§804-51 Procedure. Whenever the court, in any criminal cause, forfeits any bond or recognizance given in a criminal cause, the court shall immediately enter up judgment in favor of the State and against the principal or principals and surety or sureties on the bond, jointly and severally, for the full amount of the penalty thereof, and shall cause execution to issue thereon immediately after the expiration of thirty days from the date that notice is given via personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the surety or sureties on the bond, of the entry of the judgment in favor of the State, unless before the expiration of thirty days from the date that notice is given to the surety or sureties on the bond of the entry of the judgment in favor of the State, a motion or application of the principal or principals, surety or sureties, or any of them, showing good cause why execution should not issue upon the judgment, is filed with the court. If the motion or application, after a hearing held thereon, is sustained, the court shall vacate the judgment of forfeiture and, if the principal surrenders or is surrendered pursuant to section 804-14 or section 804-41, return the bond or recognizance to the principal or surety, whoever shall have given it, less the amount of any cost, as established at the hearing, incurred by the State as a result of the nonappearance of the principal or other event on the basis of which the court forfeited the bond or recognizance. If the motion or application, after a hearing held thereon, is overruled, execution shall forthwith issue and shall not be stayed unless the order overruling the motion or application is appealed from as in the case of a final judgment.

This section shall be considered to be set forth in full in words and figures in, and to form a part of, and to be included in, each and every bond or recognizance given in a criminal cause, whether actually set forth in the bond or recognizance, or not. [L 1933, c 17, §§1, 2; RL 1935, §5461; RL 1945, §10761; RL 1955, §256-50; HRS §709-51; am L 1970, c 188, §39; ren L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1972, c 109, §1(b), (c); am L 1989, c 289, §1; am L 2002, c 10, §1]

Rules of Court

Bail; bond, see HRPP rule 46.

Applicability of rules, see HRCP rule 81(a)(8), (f), (g), (h), (i); DCRCP rule 81(a)(2).

Case Notes

Appeal not untimely where appealable event was order denying motion to set aside judgment of forfeiture. 81 H. 324, 916 P.2d 1225 (1996).

"Good cause why execution should not issue upon the judgment" of forfeiture may be shown by defendant providing a satisfactory reason for defendant's failure to appear when required or surrendering or being surrendered prior to expiration of the thirty-day search period. 81 H. 324, 916 P.2d 1225 (1996).

Where principal was surrendered, surety entitled to return of bond whether principal was actually surrendered by surety or police. 81 H. 324, 916 P.2d 1225 (1996).

Circuit court's delayed entry of forfeiture judgment resulted in no prejudice to surety and did not render the judgment void or otherwise unlawful. 83 H. 118, 925 P.2d 288 (1996).

Surety's motion under this section failed to make requisite showing of good cause why execution should not issue upon forfeiture judgment where principal neither surrendered nor was surrendered prior to expiration of the thirty-day search period. 83 H. 118, 925 P.2d 288 (1996).

Where petitioner's incarceration in California established good cause under this section for petitioner's failure to appear at petitioner's arraignment and thus for why the bail forfeiture judgment should not be executed, the district court erred in denying the motion to set aside bail forfeiture and for return of bail filed by petitioner. 128 H. 215, 286 P.3d 824 (2012).

Because this section governs situations in which a judgment of forfeiture has been entered, and such a judgment was entered against petitioner, this section and not §804-14 applied to recovery of the bail bond by petitioner. 131 H. 9, 313 P.3d 698 (2013).

Intermediate court of appeals correctly concluded that the Hawaii rules of civil procedure (HRCP) did not apply to bond forfeiture proceedings; HRCP rule 81(a)(8) expressly precluded the application of the HRCP in the case. 131 H. 9, 313 P.3d 698 (2013).

Petitioner's appeal from the court's denial of its motion to set aside judgment and order for forfeiture of bail bond, petitioner's first motion to set aside, was untimely, consequently, petitioner had no further recourse under this section. 131 H. 9, 313 P.3d 698 (2013).

Pursuant to this section, a court is only required to enter a judgment of forfeiture once--at the time the court forfeits a bond. 131 H. 9, 313 P.3d 698 (2013).

Pursuant to this section, once the court forfeits a bail bond, §804-14 is limited by the thirty-day search period contained within this section. 131 H. 9, 313 P.3d 698 (2013).

Surety not excused from liability under bail bond where surety provided no evidence that "uncontrollable circumstances" prevented it from meeting its obligations under the bond. 88 H. 126 (App.), 962 P.2d 1008 (1998).