§612-16 Grand jury. (a) The court shall order one or more grand juries to be impaneled at such times as the public interest requires; provided that there shall be an annual initial impaneling not later than January 15.

(b) For the impaneling of a grand jury, the prospective jurors on a certified list of grand jurors shall be summoned and the names of those who are present, and not disqualified, exempted, or excused, shall be placed in an appropriate container from which a drawing by lot shall be conducted in order to draw a sufficient number of names to constitute a grand jury. A sufficient number of additional names on a certified list, as determined by the court, shall be drawn so that alternate grand jurors may be designated to serve as grand jurors in case of any vacancy occurring on a grand jury. The drawing shall be made in open court in the presence of the judge, no earlier than one week after a publication of notice of the time and place of drawing in a newspaper of general circulation published within the circuit for which the grand jury is drawn; provided that if there is no such newspaper, then after at least one week's posting of such notice in at least three conspicuous places in the circuit.

(c) A certificate listing the names of the grand jurors and alternate grand jurors, and stating the essential facts of the drawing, signed by the judge and attested by the clerk, shall be filed.

(d) The grand jury, being impaneled and sworn, shall be charged by the court. The alternate grand jurors shall also be sworn and charged by the court, but shall not be impaneled. In charging the grand jurors and alternate grand jurors, the court shall give them such information as it may deem proper as to their duties and as to the law pertaining to such cases as may come before them. The court may further charge the grand jurors and alternate grand jurors from time to time, as it may deem necessary.

(e) Effective January 2, 1992, for the courts of the first circuit of the State of Hawaii, and effective January 2, 1993, for the courts of all other circuits of the State, a grand jury shall serve for a period of one year after being impaneled, unless sooner discharged by the court; provided that a grand jury may sit beyond the one-year period to complete any matter for which the grand jury was impaneled. [L 1973, c 191, pt of §1; am L 1987, c 366, §9; am L 2007, c 122, §11]

Cross References

Indictment by grand jury is required in infamous cases, except in land or naval forces, or militia in actual service in time of war or public danger: U.S. Const., 5th Am.; Const. art. I, §10. See also §806-7.

Grand jury counsel, see §§612-51 to 612-60.

Rules of Court

Grand jury to consist of sixteen members, see HRPP rule 6(a). A sufficient number to be summoned, see HRPP rule 6(a).

Oath of grand jurors, see HRPP rule 6(h).

Foreperson of grand jury, see HRPP rule 6(c).

Secrecy of proceedings, who may be present, see HRPP rule 6(d), (e).

Case Notes

Objections, manner drawing and impaneling grand jury. 13 H. 413 (1901).

Party who neglects to claim right of challenge to grand jury, before they retire, waives it, although party may be imprisoned at time. 13 H. 413 (1901); 15 H. 139 (1903); 22 H. 618 (1915).

Right to challenge before grand jury retires. 13 H. 413 (1901); 15 H. 139 (1903); 22 H. 618 (1915).

When record is silent as to manner of drawing grand jury supreme court will presume that it was regularly and properly drawn. 13 H. 413 (1901).

Assistance of counsel at impaneling of grand jury. 15 H. 139 (1901).

A person accused of an offense has no right to appear before or to have witnesses heard in person's behalf by the grand jury. 15 H. 612 (1904).

In absence of any showing to contrary, presumption is that grand jurors who found indictment were good and lawful persons and that not less than twelve concurred in finding. 15 H. 612 (1904); 19 H. 496 (1909); 20 H. 240 (1910); 21 H. 66 (1912); 22 H. 116 (1914).

Sheriff may not testify as to facts occurring in the session of the grand jury. 17 H. 126, 131 (1905).

Prior to statute, oath of secrecy could not be required of a witness before a grand jury by one of the judges of circuit court of the first circuit. 17 H. 341 (1906).

Advantage cannot be taken of an irregularity in the drawing of trial jurors unless it clearly appears that the party objecting was injured. 19 H. 496, 497 (1909), criticized on other grounds. 33 H. 167, 172 (1934).

When only twelve grand jurors appear, others of the twenty-three having been excused or not served, court may direct drawing of five additional names from appropriate jury box to fill panel. 20 H. 240 (1910).

Where twenty-three grand jurors had been summoned, jurors not served, excused, etc., only twelve appearing, court may draw additional names to fill panel, invalid. 20 H. 240 (1910).

Objection to irregularities of drawing grand jurors. 22 H. 618 (1915).

Motion to quash indictment, defendant warned before testifying to grand jury. 24 H. 621 (1919).

Grand jury not incompetent through omission to apportion list of persons from different precincts. 29 H. 7 (1926).

Evidence presented to grand jury must be recorded. 51 H. 589, 465 P.2d 549 (1970).

Under its supervisory powers over grand jury proceedings, court may disqualify an attorney from attending the grand jury where justice requires it. 57 H. 289, 554 P.2d 1131 (1976).

Member of prosecution serving as agent of grand jury held unconstitutional. 57 H. 574, 560 P.2d 1309 (1977).

Prosecutor is not required to present to grand jury evidence which tends to negate guilt of accused unless clearly exculpatory. 60 H. 241, 589 P.2d 517 (1978).

Prosecutorial misconduct before grand jury must be extreme and clearly infringe upon jury's decision making function in order to serve as basis for quashing indictment. 62 H. 209, 614 P.2d 373 (1980).

Presentation of evidence--prosecutor's duty; hearsay evidence. 62 H. 518, 616 P.2d 1383 (1980).

Secrecy of proceedings and disclosure. 62 H. 613, 617 P.2d 1222 (1980).

Exclusion of deputy public defender from the courtroom while impaneling the grand jury violated section. 70 H. 443, 774 P.2d 242 (1989).

Sufficiency of evidence to support indictment. 1 H. App. 396, 620 P.2d 740 (1980).

Unless prosecutor's misconduct clearly infringed on the jury's decision-making function it should not be relied on for dismissal of the indictment. 1 H. App. 430, 620 P.2d 263 (1980).