The Judiciary’s Hidden Trap: Why the System is Setting Defendants Up for Failure

Shots fired—I know.

For over 20 years, I’ve worked in Honolulu’s bail system, helping people navigate the chaotic and stressful process of dealing with the courts. One issue continues to resurface, making it needlessly difficult for defendants to keep their promise to appear in court after release.

In this issue of Jail Mail, I’ll highlight two attorneys who are actively and creatively tackling this problem. First up: Attorney Brian Kim—aka the highest-rated attorney I’ve ever come across. And second, an attorney you might not expect. But before I get to that, let’s take a moment for a well-deserved judiciary call-out, courtesy of yours truly.

The District-to-Circuit Court Trap

Imagine you’re out on a $20,000 bail and you're focused on attending your scheduled court date in District Court. You’ve already taken off of work for that day and made childcare arrangements, just so there’s no obstacles in the way of making your appearance.

Then, without warning, your case is sent to a grand jury that finds probable cause to formally indict you and now, a new Circuit Court date is created.

The problem? No one tells you about the Circuit Court date!

You’re still focused on your original District Court hearing when suddenly, a bench warrant is issued for your arrest—because you unknowingly missed your new Circuit Court date you were never notified about.  

Luckily, attorney Brian Kim found a creative fix, which could be utilized by both private attorneys and public defenders alike.  Maybe the next Chief Justice is reading this newsletter right now and will send a simple memo to fix this persistent issue.

The solution is so simple, take your pick future CJ!

✅ Automatically strike the original District Court hearing when a case is transferred to the Circuit Court.  No hearing needed, just require the prosecutor’s office to file a dismissal motion, citing the circuit court indictment as cause.

✅ Send formal notification to the defendant and their bail bond company notifying each party of the new Circuit Court date upon indictment.  Criminal assignments could easily call any of the 5 major companies that post close to 100% of bails on the island.  

✅ As a default, issue a continuance instead of an unnecessary bench warrant, if a first hearing before a judge is missed.  The first, and hopefully only time offender isn’t seasoned, and can’t be expected to perfectly navigate double hearings in separate courthouses. 

HOT TAKE: Court punishment should be reserved for sentencing, not for an attendance mixup courtesy of a jurisdictional overlap between the District and Circuit court. 

How Brian Kim is Fixing What the Courts Break

Recently, Brian Kim had a client who was arrested and bailed out on $20,000 bail. The defendant believed their case was still in District Court—completely unaware that a new Circuit Court date had been set.

Here’s the problem:

When the inevitable bench warrant was issued, Brian Kim took action. Instead of letting his client get arrested over a bureaucratic failure, he asked the judge to take the warrant under advisement and set a new date. This allowed his client to appear in court without the risk of getting arrested, posting bail again, or being unnecessarily jailed.

For those outside the bail system, here’s an unfortunate reality: law enforcement loves serving the same warrants twice. The groundwork is already done, and re-arresting a defendant they’ve already processed makes for an easy stat—a quick, effortless way to pad numbers and help with career advancement.

The Old Standard—Which Should Be the New Standard Again

Not long ago, the standard practice was to ask for a continuance when someone bailed out and missed their arraignment. Judges, public defenders, and private attorneys understood that if a failure to appear was due to:

✔️ An OCCC release, where court dates and receipts are NOT given to defendants
✔️ Same day appearances in separate courthouses
✔️ A case transferring between courthouses

…then the defendant should be given a chance to correct it—without risking re-arrest.

But today? Many attorneys don’t even bother asking for a continuance, and too many judges default to issuing warrants immediately.

Shoutout to the GOAT of Administrative Judges

Judge Derrick Chan understood this. He was ahead of his time, but luckily for me, not ahead of my time in the judiciary.

His approach?

• Failure to Appear (FTA) cases were passed until the end of the session

• Forfeiture cases weren’t enforced until after a courtesy one-week continuance

This was smart, fair, and effective—and it’s exactly what needs to be brought back.

The Real Cost of Today’s Hair-Trigger Bench Warrants

When bench warrants are issued too quickly, the entire system suffers:

🔴 More clerical work for the courts (processing unnecessary warrants)
🔴 More work for law enforcement (serving those unnecessary warrants)
🔴 More financial and emotional strain on defendants and their families

The smart attorneys—like Brian Kim—are fighting back against this outdated judicial quirk.

It’s time for the judiciary to catch up and stop penalizing people for system-created failures.

A Shoutout to Public Defenders Who Actually Care

Not all public defenders treat their clients as just another case file. Some go above and beyond to ensure defendants stay informed and out of trouble. Among them are Titiimaea Ta'ase, Ed Aquino, and Sat Freedman—all known for their dedication and commitment to their clients.

And now, joining the Law Office of Brian Kim is none other than… drumroll… Craig Nagamine!

For years, I’ve personally received after-hours and weekend calls from Mr. Nagamine—just to make sure his clients were aware of upcoming hearings and had every opportunity to appear in court.

This is the level of care and attention that should be the norm—but too often isn’t.

Final Thought: Love is the Answer

At the end of the day, the criminal justice system should be about fairness and rehabilitation—not setting people up to fail over bureaucratic nonsense.

That’s why I’m proud to highlight Brian Kim and Craig Nagamine in this newsletter. They understand that justice isn’t just about enforcing the law—it’s about making sure the system works the way it’s supposed to.

Because at the end of the day, love is the answer.

That’s right, LOVE is the answer.

Yours truly honey bun,

-Got Bail Nick