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It does shock me that fools continue to advertise their intent to break the law (and their actions of actually breaking the law) regarding Hawaii's quarantine rules on social media, which is relatively easy to track. Most of the cases I've seen of non-residents being arrested for violating quarantine seem to have been due to being tracked by social media posts of their activity.
And, note, if and when Hawaii tries to jail quarantine breakers for a period of what would have surpassed their 14 day quarantine, Hawaii gets onto very shaky constitutional ground, so I don't expect to see that happen.
And if the quarantine breakers are unable to post bail? Fried bologna, watery, over-cooked rice, bug juice and a waterproof mattress until your sceduled appearance in court with a public defender?
And if the quarantine breakers are unable to post bail? Fried bologna, watery, over-cooked rice, bug juice and a waterproof mattress until your sceduled appearance in court with a public defender?
That's where some of the constitutional considerations come into play. Bail is intended to ensure that defendants comply with the judicial and legal process, specifically to ensure that defendants appear in court when required. Due to the seriousness of certain offenses that make it more likely that a defendant will flee the area rather than face jail time (such as a serious violent offense), bail may be higher than normal in order to ensure compliance. Or bail may not even be offered to begin with, especially if an offender is considered particularly dangerous and there is an unacceptable risk that said offender will offend again.
Both the US Constitution and the Hawaii State constitution prohibit "excessive bail." While there is question as to whether the excessive bail clause of the US Constitution applies to the states (the US Supreme Court has answered yes but only in dicta and never on the merits), as I mentioned such a prohibition is also in the Hawaii State constitution. I'd argue that the State has solid legal standing to impose a high bail--regardless of defendants' ability to reasonably pay--when defendants have knowingly taken actions (e.g. violating quarantine) that put the lives of others at risk. But once the 14 day period comes to a close during incarceration, this danger has passed and continued lockup for failure to post bail (or unreasonably high bail that a defendant cannot post) becomes an issue.
Note, under the above scenario, the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause is also implicated as Hawaii has been releasing non-violent (and some violent) offenders due to COVID-19. It would be incredibly difficult for Hawaii to argue that it's allowed to treat people who violated quarantine any differently once their 14 day quarantine period would have ended.
The only part where I guess I was a little too enthusiastic about was over the actual jail sentence. There's no problem with Hawaii incarcerating quarantine breakers with substantial jail time, no matter how wise such a decision would be. At least not from a constitutional perspective. And violators of the quarantine executive order face up to 1 year in jail upon conviction. BUT, even there, you'd probably run into 14th Amendment equal protection issues based on the above, especially if quarantine breakers hypothetically sentenced to a lengthy jail sentence would otherwise meet the criteria for prisoner release during COVID-19.
Reality of the matter is, like it or not, the big island cannot prevent a US citizen from moving here permanently. They can jail the individuals for quarantine violations temporarily and actual crimes for much longer, but cannot force them to leave. In other situations where tourists dont want to stay in a county jail, they can be easily persuaded to leave.
The average citizen may not understand this, but to some jail is not a real deterrent.
Saw on the news Dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist testify before some committee today.
Questions - and I'm paraphrasing - can we reopen with testing before your flight - answer no.
Can we reopen with test on arrival - answer, no.
Sigh
Sounds like there is no time in the near future they won’t end this 14 day quarantine. I hope it ends toward the end of August because I have to fly out to the mainland with my daughter to get her set up at college. I will lose my mind if I have to do this quarantine nonsense again.
Sounds like there is no time in the near future they won’t end this 14 day quarantine. I hope it ends toward the end of August because I have to fly out to the mainland with my daughter to get her set up at college. I will lose my mind if I have to do this quarantine nonsense again.
Lol. Sorry officer. But if you can do 20 years as a LEO on the street in NY, I’m betting you can pull another 14 days BI restriction . Anyway, if your wife isn’t flying east with you she’ll be free to do the errands.
Latest unemployment numbers out - and it is of course, terrible compared to the mainland. When the PPP program runs out, expect unemployment to take another big spike upward.
Lol. Sorry officer. But if you can do 20 years as a LEO on the street in NY, I’m betting you can pull another 14 days BI restriction . Anyway, if your wife isn’t flying east with you she’ll be free to do the errands.
The point I’m making is that it is very annoying. Because I did 20 years in LE has no bearing. I actually enjoyed being a cop, I didn’t enjoy quarantine. No one enjoys being on house arrest. That’s why it’s a form of punishment. Being a cop isn’t punishment.
Latest unemployment numbers out - and it is of course, terrible compared to the mainland. When the PPP program runs out, expect unemployment to take another big spike upward.
Honolulu comes in at the best at 19.9%, Hawaii County’s rate is 21.1%, Kauai County’s rate is 29.9%, and Maui County’s rate is 33.4%
I applied for a few menial jobs. I would like to see what happens.
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. Anyway, if your wife isn’t flying east with you she’ll be free to do the errands.
