ACLU Hawaii Banner

How to Ask the ACLU of Hawaii for Legal Assistance


How to Ask the ACLU of Hawaii for Legal Assistance:

The ACLU of Hawaii does NOT review requests for legal assistance in person, over the telephone, or thru email. To ask the ACLU of Hawaii for legal assistance, you must write a letter to:
Intake Department
ACLU of Hawaii
P.O. Box 3410
Honolulu, Hawaii 96801


Before you write to request legal assistance, please review the information below:
The ACLU of Hawaii is able to provide legal assistance in only a small number of cases.
Violations of constitutional rights and civil liberties are widespread, but the ACLU of Hawaii is a small organization. We receive over 100 requests for assistance each month. Because of our limited human and financial resources, however, we are able to investigate only a small percentage of the potentially meritorious requests for assistance we receive. As a result, we have to turn down the overwhelming majority of requests for assistance. A denial should not be considered an evaluation of the merits.

The ACLU of Hawaii only handles cases that involve violations of civil liberties and civil rights.
Civil Liberties include:

  • The right of freedom of speech
    The government cannot tell you what to say or what not to say.

  • The right of freedom of religion
    The government cannot tell you to belong to a religious group, support one religious group over another or support religion in general.

  • The right of freedom of association
    The government cannot tell you to join or not join a particular group or organization. You may be a communist, fascist, pacifist, etc., if you wish.

  • The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures
    The government cannot search you, your belongings or your home without probable cause that a crime has occurred and you have evidence of the crime.

  • The right of privacy
    The government cannot intrude on your personal, fundamentally private lives.

  • The right of reproductive freedom
    The government cannot tell you that you are not allowed to use birth control or to obtain an abortion.

  • The right to an attorney in a criminal trial
    The government must provide you with an attorney in a criminal trial if you cannot afford one.

  • The right to be free from self incrimination
    The government cannot force you to testify against yourself.

  • The right to be tried by a jury of your peers
    The government must give you a criminal trial composed of a jury of your peers.

  • The right not to be charged with the same offense twice
    Known as the right against double jeopardy, the government cannot charge you twice for the same offense if you were acquitted of the crime at the first trial.

  • The right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment
    The government cannot inflict upon you cruel and unusual punishment.

This is just a sampling of some civil liberties that the government cannot take away from you. There are more civil liberties to be found in the Hawai`i and United States Constitutions.

Many of these civil liberties are protected by provisions in the United States Constitution such as the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment, and also by similar provisions in the Hawaii Constitution. In most cases, these constitutional provisions apply only to the government. Accordingly, in most cases, a legal matter raises a civil liberties issue only when a governmental official or a governmental agency is responsible for violating your rights.

Civil rights statutes strengthen the right to equal protection by prohibiting private businesses as well as governmental agencies from discriminating.

Civil Rights include:

  • The right not to be discriminated against because of your race or ethnicity
    You cannot be denied employment or services because you belong to a particular ethnic group.

  • The right not to be discriminated because of your national origin
    You cannot be denied most employment or services because you are from another country.

  • The right not to be discriminated against because of your gender and/or sex
    You cannot be denied employment or services because of your gender.

  • The right not to be discriminated against because of your age
    You cannot be denied employment or services because of your age.

  • The right not to be discriminated against because of your disability
    You cannot be denied employment or services because you have a disability or are HIV+.

Neither the government nor private businesses may violate your civil rights. There are state and federal laws protecting people from being discriminated against by the government and private entities. The ACLU`s mission is to prevent the government from discriminating against people. There are agencies, non-profit organizations and private attorneys you can turn to for assistance if you are being discriminated against by private groups.If you are the victim of discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, ethnic background, gender, religion, disability, and in some jurisdictions, sexual orientation, you may have a legal remedy.

Types of cases the ACLU of Hawaii generally does not accept. The ACLU of Hawaii generally does not accept the following types of cases:
  • Family Law. The ACLU of Hawaii generally does not provide assistance in family law cases involving disputes about divorces, child custody, parenting time, or visitation.
     
  • Denial of government benefits. The ACLU of Hawaii is unlikely to challenge a specific case of the denial of government benefits, such as workers’ compensation, unemployment, social security, or food stamps.
     
  • Landlord-tenant disputes. The ACLU of Hawaii does not generally get involved in disputes between tenants and their private landlords, unless the issue involves discrimination prohibited by statutes or ordinance.
     
  • Criminal defense. The ACLU of Hawaii generally does not provide criminal defense attorneys to persons who are accused of crimes. There is an exception, however, when the alleged criminal activity clearly implicates a constitutional right such as freedom of speech. Thus, the ACLU of Hawaii is unlikely to provide a criminal defense to someone charged with burglary, even if the person asserts that the evidence was obtained in a search that violates the Fourth Amendment. On the other hand, the ACLU of Hawaii would consider assisting in the criminal defense of a person arrested for participating in a demonstration, if the arrests infringed on the right of free expression.
     
  • Challenges to convictions or prison sentences. It is very unlikely that the ACLU of Hawaii would provide an attorney to challenge a person’s criminal conviction or the length of a prison sentence. Similarly, the ACLU of Hawaii will not be able to help prisoners who believe that the length of their sentence has been calculated incorrectly. If a pending appeal raises an important constitutional issue, the ACLU of Hawaii may submit an amicus brief in the appellate courts. Requests for amicus briefs should come from your appellate attorney.
     
  • Complaints about attorneys. The ACLU of Hawaii does not handle complaints about a person’s current court-appointed or private attorney.
     
  • Employment. The ACLU of Hawaii usually cannot help when employees believes that they were fired unjustly or were otherwise treated unfairly at work. This is especially true when the employer is a private company rather than a government agency. But when workers can show that they were fired or mistreated because of their race, gender, ethnic background, religion, disability or any other basis that violates anti-discrimination statutes, there is stronger legal protection. In such cases, we ask that you pursue your complaint with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC) before you send a letter to the ACLU of Hawaii. For information about filing a complaint with the HCRC, write 830 Punchbowl Street, Room 411, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, or call the agency at (808) 586-8636.
     
  • Cases that are too old. There are times deadlines for initiating most legal actions. If the incident occurred too far in the past, it may be too late for a legal remedy. The ACLU of Hawaii cannot provide advice about what time deadlines may apply to your particular legal matter.
     
  • Cases that arise outside Hawaii. Excepting only matters concerning Hawaii inmates housed on the mainland, the ACLU of Hawaii does not provide legal assistance if the matter did not take place in or arise in Hawaii. To find ACLU affiliates in other states, go to www.aclu.org .
     

If the ACLU does not accept your case, we cannot provide legal advice. If the ACLU of Hawaii is not able to provide legal assistance, we also cannot provide legal advice about your case. We will not be able to answer questions about the legal significance of the facts, conduct legal research, or provide information about the legal deadlines that might apply to your situation. This policy allows us to direct our limited resources to the cases that we do accept.

Important information about deadlines. All legal claims have time deadlines. These deadlines may be different depending on the nature of the legal claim, the persons who violate your rights, and which particular rights were violated. For some kinds of violations, you may need to file a notice or pursue other administrative remedies with a government agency before you can file suit in court. These administrative procedures also have their own time deadlines. If you do not comply with the applicable time deadlines, you could be legally barred from pursuing your claim in court. Contacting the ACLU of Hawaii to describe your problem does not mean that ACLU attorneys represent you, and contacting the ACLU of Hawaii does not stop these time deadlines from running. The ACLU of Hawaii cannot provide you with advice about which time deadlines might apply to your particular situation. To ensure that your rights are protected, you may need to consult an attorney promptly to find out what time deadlines may apply in your case.

ACLU attorneys do not charge for their time. If the ACLU of Hawaii accepts your case, there is not charge for the time spent by the attorneys. You may be asked to help pay for the expenses of the litigation, such as filing fees and depositions.

What to include in your written request for legal assistance. Your request for legal assistance will be processed after we receive a letter that requests our help and describes the facts of your situation. We will respond to you in writing within 4 to 6 weeks. Please allow sufficient time for us to evaluate your letter. Send to:

Intake Department
ACLU of Hawaii
P.O. Box 3410
Honolulu, Hawaii 96801

Be sure to provide all necessary information for contacting you by mail and by telephone. It is also helpful to include your email address if you have one. In your letter, please describe in detail the incident or the issue that prompted you to request legal assistance:
  • In describing the incident, it may be helpful to answer the five “W” questions: who, what, when, where and why.
     
  • Be sure to identify the persons, business, institutions, or government agencies who are responsible for violating your rights.
     
  • If the offending person or agency provided you with some sort of explanation, please let us know. If possible, please explain why you believe that explanation is not adequate.
     
  • If the specific incident resulted in newspaper coverage, it may be helpful to include copies of the clippings.
     
  • If you have documents, please send copies only; we cannot return originals.
     
  • If your complaint involves mistreatment by police officers, it is especially helpful if you could obtain a copy of whatever report the police wrote.
     
  • If you have already taken some action, such as filing an appeal or a complaint, please let us know the status of the matter.
     
  • Please indicate whether the ACLU of Hawaii is authorized to write a letter of inquiry or a letter of protest using your name.
     
  • Finally, please let us know what you are asking the ACLU of Hawaii to do for you.
     
Navigate: