Haw. Rev. Stat. » Haw. Rev. Stat. / Chapter 286
Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 286-10 (2026)

]  Arrest or citation. 

✓ current as of July 2026
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     [§286-10]  Arrest or citation.  Except when required by state law to take immediately before a district judge a person arrested for violation of any provision of this chapter, including any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, any person authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter, hereinafter referred to as enforcement officer, upon arresting a person for violation of any provision of this chapter, including any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter shall issue to the alleged violator a summons or citation printed in the form hereinafter described, warning the alleged violator to appear and answer to the charge against the alleged violator at a certain place and at a time within seven days after such arrest.

     The summons or citation shall be printed in a form comparable to the form of other summonses and citations used for arresting offenders and shall be designed to provide for inclusion of all necessary information.  The form and content of such summons or citation shall be adopted or prescribed by the district courts.

     The original of a summons or citation shall be given to the alleged violator and the other copy or copies distributed in the manner prescribed by the district courts; provided that the district courts may prescribe alternative methods of distribution of the original and any other copy.

     Summonses and citations shall be consecutively numbered and the carbon copy or copies of each shall bear the same number.

     Any person who fails to appear at the place and within the time specified in the summons or citation issued to the person by the enforcement officer upon the person's arrest for violation of any provision of this chapter, including any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

     If any person fails to comply with a summons or citation issued to such person, or if any person fails or refuses to deposit bail as required, the enforcement officer shall cause a complaint to be entered against such person and secure the issuance of a warrant for the person's arrest.

     When a complaint is made to any prosecuting officer of the violation of any provision of this chapter, including any rule adopted hereunder, the enforcement officer who issued the summons or citation shall subscribe to it under oath administered by another official of the department of transportation whose name has been submitted to the prosecuting officer and who has been designated by the director to administer the same. [L 1979, c 119, §4; gen ch 1985]

 

Cross References

 

  Nonresident violator compact, see chapter 291A.

 

Case Notes

 

  "Arrest" may involve either (1) taking the alleged violator into extended physical custody or (2) issuing the individual a citation.  84 H. 295, 933 P.2d 632 (1997).

  Police officers have authority to order alleged violators out of their vehicles in the case of traffic-related criminal offenses, but not in the case of traffic violations or when statutorily required to issue a citation.  84 H. 295, 933 P.2d 632 (1997).

 

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 1994–2018 · leading case: State v. Vallesteros, 933 P.2d 632 (Haw. 1997).
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State v. Vallesteros, 933 P.2d 632 (Haw. 1997). · cites it 42× “6 Second, the prosecution argues that the ICA’s interpretation of HRS § 286-10 (1993) in Bolosan— holding that police lack the authority to order a person out of his or her car to be *300 arrested for DWOL—is wrong as a matter of law and should be overturned.”
State v. Barros, 48 P.3d 584 (Haw. 2002). · cites it 20× “The court applied the rules of statutory construction to HRS §§ 286-10, 803-5, and 803-6. The court found that those statutes overlapped in their governance of arrest procedures for traffic offenses.”
State v. West, 18 P.3d 923 (Haw. App. 2000). · cites it 12× “West initially alleges that the Complaint issued by Officer Kutsy was fatally defective because it: (1) failed to state the specific subsection of HRS § 291C-102 that she was charged with violating; and (2) was not affirmed or sworn to by Officer Kutsy before another police…”
State v. Bolosan, 890 P.2d 685 (Haw. App. 1994). · cites it 4× “However, pursuant to HRS § 286-10 (1985) 5 and HRS § 431:10C-117(a)(1) (Supp.”
State v. Veniegas, 905 P.2d 50 (Haw. App. 1995). · cites it 4× “However, in Bolosan , we noted that: Pursuant to HRS § 286-10 (1985) and HRS § 431:10C-117(a)(l) (Supp.”
State v. Najibi, 892 P.2d 475 (Haw. App. 1995). · cites it 2× “In the situation where the police do know the identity of the person, however, Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 291C-164 (1985) provides that unless another law authorizes the arrested person to be taken before a district judge, an arrest for a violation of the traffic laws…”
Bikle v. Dist. Court Judges of Hilo (Haw. 2018). · cites it 2× “) Upon consideration of petitioner Philip Bikle’s “Application for Expedited Writ of Mandate to the Third Judicial Circuit, County of Hawai#i, State of Hawai#i & Application for Emergency Stay of Lower Court Proceedings,” filed on October 19, 2018, the documents attached thereto…”
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