Abuse of a Household Member in Hawaii: Penalties, TROs, Custody

Abuse of a household member in Hawaii is a criminal offense under HRS 709-906 that can put you in jail for at least 48 hours on a first conviction, rise to a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison for repeat or aggravated cases, and follow you long after the sentence through firearm bans, custody presumptions, and immigration consequences.¹

Who the Law Applies To

The statute only reaches conduct between people in a specific kind of relationship. “Family or household member” covers spouses, reciprocal beneficiaries, former spouses, former reciprocal beneficiaries, people in a dating relationship, people who share a child, parents, children, blood relatives, and anyone who currently lives or previously lived in the same home.¹

Roommates who share a home only because of a rental or contractual arrangement are excluded. A fight between two people who split rent but have no romantic, familial, or dating connection falls under Hawaii’s general assault statutes, not the domestic abuse law.

What Counts as Abuse

The statute criminalizes physically abusing a family or household member, and visible injuries are not required.¹ Courts have found that forcefully grabbing a wrist or shoving someone can qualify when the person was placed in fear of harm. Verbal threats can meet the threshold when paired with conduct suggesting an immediate ability to carry them out.

The law draws a line between two levels of conduct. Causing or attempting to cause bodily injury is a misdemeanor. Offensive touching, shoving, or kicking that does not rise to bodily injury, along with exercising coercive control over a household member, is a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail.²

Arrest and the Cooling-Off Period

Police can arrest without a warrant when they have reasonable grounds to believe someone physically abused a household member, even if the officer did not witness the incident.¹ The victim’s statements, visible injuries, witness accounts, or signs of a struggle can establish probable cause.

Officers must also order the person they believe committed the abuse to leave the home for a cooling-off period that runs until 6:00 p.m. on the second business day after the order is issued.¹ Refusing to leave, returning early, or contacting the victim during that window is grounds for arrest. And because the state prosecutes these cases, the case moves forward even when the victim later recants or asks that charges be dropped.

Penalties by Offense Level

Sentencing tracks the number of prior convictions, the type of conduct, and who was present.¹

First offense: misdemeanor. Mandatory minimum 48 hours in jail, maximum one year.²
Second offense within one year: misdemeanor with repeat-offender status. Mandatory minimum 30 days in jail.
Third or later offense within two years of a second conviction: Class C felony, up to five years in prison.³

Two categories of conduct jump directly to a Class C felony, no prior convictions required. The first is strangulation or suffocation, meaning impeding someone’s breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat, neck, or chest, or by blocking the nose and mouth; visible injuries do not need to be present. The second is committing physical abuse in the presence of a family or household member under 14 years old.¹

Beyond incarceration, courts can order a domestic violence intervention program, probation, community service, ongoing no-contact orders, and electronic monitoring.

Protective Orders

The alleged victim can seek a protective order separate from the criminal case. When a temporary restraining order is granted, the court must hold a hearing within 15 days on whether to issue a longer-term order, though the hearing can be rescheduled up to 90 days from the date of the temporary order if the respondent has not been served.⁴

A protective order can prohibit approaching the victim’s home, workplace, or school. Violating one is itself a misdemeanor. A first domestic-abuse violation carries a mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail and a fine of $150 to $500. A second violation of the same order raises the minimum to 30 days and fines of $250 to $1,000.⁵ A protective order can remain in force even if the underlying criminal charges are dismissed.

Firearm Consequences

Anyone subject to a Hawaii protective order is prohibited from possessing, controlling, or transferring firearms or ammunition for as long as the order is in effect.⁶ Violating that restriction while under a protective order is a misdemeanor. If the person has a felony or crime-of-violence conviction, possessing a firearm becomes a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison. Courts can require immediate surrender of firearms when a protective order issues, and law enforcement can confiscate weapons.

Federal law goes further. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence permanently bars the person from shipping, transporting, or possessing any firearm or ammunition anywhere in the country.⁷ The ban has no expiration date. For anyone in law enforcement or the military, that effectively ends the ability to carry a service weapon.

Effect on Child Custody

A finding of family violence creates a rebuttable presumption under Hawaii law that giving custody to the parent who committed the violence is detrimental to the child and not in the child’s best interest.⁸ The presumption covers sole custody, joint legal custody, and joint physical custody. The burden shifts to that parent to prove custody is nonetheless appropriate.

In these cases, the court must treat the safety of the child and the abused parent as the primary consideration and must weigh the offending parent’s history of causing physical harm or reasonable fear of harm. If the abused parent moved away or became absent because of the violence, the court cannot hold that relocation against them.⁸

Visitation is not automatically denied, but the court can grant it only if there are adequate provisions for the physical safety and psychological well-being of the child and the abused parent. Supervised visitation is common, at least at first. The court also cannot require a domestic violence victim to attend joint counseling with the abuser as a condition of custody.

Immigration Exposure for Non-Citizens

Federal immigration law makes any non-citizen convicted of a crime of domestic violence deportable, regardless of how long they have been in the United States or their current status.⁹ Violating a protective order can independently trigger deportability when the conduct involved credible threats of violence, repeated harassment, or bodily injury.

A narrow waiver exists for people who were themselves victims of domestic violence and were not the primary aggressor, but it is discretionary with the Attorney General and comes with strict requirements.⁹ Non-citizens should consult an immigration attorney before entering any plea, because even a misdemeanor conviction can start removal proceedings.

Criminal Record and Expungement

A conviction is publicly accessible to employers, landlords, and licensing boards. Jobs that require security clearances or work with vulnerable populations can be closed off, and state licensing boards in healthcare, law enforcement, and education can suspend or revoke a license based on the conviction.

Hawaii’s expungement law is narrow. Under HRS 831-3.2, only arrest records can be expunged, and only when the case ended without a conviction, whether through dismissal, acquittal, or successful completion of a deferred acceptance of guilty plea.¹⁰ A deferred acceptance lets a first-time defendant complete conditions such as counseling or probation; if they finish successfully, the charge is dismissed, but there is a one-year waiting period after discharge before an expungement order can issue. If the case ends in an actual conviction, no Hawaii mechanism will expunge or seal it.

1
Justia. Hawaii Code 709-906 – Abuse of Family or Household Members; Penalty
2
Justia. Hawaii Code 706-663 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Misdemeanor and Petty Misdemeanor
3
FindLaw. Hawaii Code 706-660 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Class B and C Felonies
4
Justia. Hawaii Code 586-5 – Period of Order; Hearing
5
Justia. Hawaii Code 586-11 – Violation of an Order for Protection
6
Justia. Hawaii Code 134-7 – Ownership, Possession, or Control Prohibited, When; Penalty
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
Justia. Hawaii Code 571-46 – Criteria and Procedure in Awarding Custody and Visitation
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
10
Justia. Hawaii Code 831-3.2 – Expungement Orders