(a) Except as otherwise provided in this part, all information and records acquired by the department during its review of domestic violence fatalities pursuant to this part are confidential and shall only be disclosed as necessary to carry out the purposes of this part.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 321-475

  • Department: means the department of health. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 321-471
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Domestic violence: means physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the threat of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault, extreme psychological abuse or malicious property damage between family or household members. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 321-471
  • Domestic violence fatality review information: means information regarding a victim, including but not limited to:

    (1) Social, medical, and legal history;

    (2) Death and birth certificates;

    (3) Law enforcement investigative information and data;

    (4) Medical examiner or coroner investigative information and data;

    (5) Parole and probation information and records;

    (6) Information and records of social services agencies;

    (7) Educational records; and

    (8) Health care institution information. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 321-471

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Victim: means an adult whose death is suspected of having been caused by domestic violence or domestic violence-related suicide. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 321-471
(b) Domestic violence fatality review information and statistical compilations of data that do not contain any information not previously publicly disclosed that would permit the identification of any person, shall be public records.
(c) An individual participating in the domestic violence fatality review of a victim‘s death shall not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding information presented in or an opinion formed as a result of a domestic violence fatality review meeting. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent an individual from testifying to information obtained independently of the domestic violence fatality review of a victim’s death, or which is public information, or where law or court order requires disclosure.
(d) Domestic violence fatality review information held by the department as a result of domestic violence fatality reviews conducted under this part shall not be subject to subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding, except that domestic violence fatality review information otherwise available from other sources shall not be immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence through those sources solely because it was provided as required by this part.
(e) Information collected and recommendations derived from the review process shall be compiled for use in system reform efforts relating to the reduction of preventable deaths, near-deaths, and suicides resulting from domestic violence.

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