Assault
HRS 707-712 — bodily injury is a misdemeanor, or a petty misdemeanor in a fight both sides agreed to
Assault in the third degree is intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person, or negligently causing bodily injury with a dangerous instrument. It is a misdemeanor, unless committed in a fight or scuffle entered into by mutual consent, when it is a petty misdemeanor.
Who handles this in Hawaii: Hawaii State Bar Association, Lawyer Referral and Information Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
Assault in the second degree is a class C felony. It covers causing substantial bodily injury intentionally, knowingly or recklessly, causing serious bodily injury recklessly, and causing bodily injury with a dangerous instrument.
- Bodily injury to certain people at work is also second degree: correctional workers, educational workers, emergency medical services providers, firefighters and water safety officers, health care and home health workers, sports officials, national guard members, and protective services workers.
- So is bodily injury to a person sixty years of age or older, where the age is known or reasonably should be known.
- So is bodily injury to a person the defendant is under a court order not to contact, threaten or abuse, or whom a police officer has ordered the defendant to leave.
Sources for this section (2)
- HRS 707-712 — Assault in the third degree
- HRS 707-711 — Assault in the second degree
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.