Legal Question in Criminal Law in Hawaii

How do you get the proper paper work with an open case ( police report, court documents, etc.) being that you tried and they said to ask your public defender for the documents but he is not helping in this matter (documentation)?


Asked on 8/14/10, 3:01 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rustam Barbee Rustam A. Barbee, Attorney at Law

In Hawaii state courts, your attorney may be prohibited by rule to give copies of the police reports to their client. The rule, however, does not prohibit the lawyer from giving copies of all other documents to the client. If the client wants to see the police reports, the lawyer will sit with the client and let them read the report and take notes. If the client cannot afford to hire their own private attorney, and is unhappy with their lawyer, they can ask the lawyer to withdraw and request that another court-appointed lawyer be assigned to represent them.

In federal court, the lawyer may provide copies of all discovery to the client, including investigative reports.

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Answered on 8/19/10, 6:16 pm


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