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Process Server Wait

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What is the name of your state? Hawaii

Long story short I was the subject of an undercover sting operation by the liquor commission. I checked the customers ID but it was a fake and the liquor commission worker botched my ticket when giving it to me. Wrote wrong social, misspelled the offense, and did not include any details not even a report number. The case was dismissed without prejudice so that it could be refiled with correct information. My attorney has advised me to kindly accept the summons from my process server when they catch up to me but for over a month now they've only called a handful of times to tell me to come to their office. They showed up at my house once when I wasn't home. My attorneys' office advised me to let it go for as long as possible in hopes the case would be dropped due to right to speedy trial, but everything I've read online states that it is does not behoove me to wait. I can't find a description of how long "right to speedy trial" is considered in a case like this, and I have tried to discuss the logic behind this method with my attorney but he hasn't called me back. I don't want to be an annoying client, but I took a loan out to afford his services and feel I should at least get a call back. I've had to work harder than the liquor commission to work towards my own prosecution as they seemingly admitted I was the only fish they caught in their net so-to-speak and it's worth their efforts to prosecute since sting operations cost the county money and they need to have something to show for it, but I don't feel I should go out of my way to make the process servers life easier but I am definitely not avoiding them. How long should I keep waiting?
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Hawaii
... My attorneys' office advised me to let it go for as long as possible in hopes the case would be dropped due to right to speedy trial, but everything I've read online states that it is does not behoove me to wait. I can't find a description of how long "right to speedy trial" is considered in a case like this, and I have tried to discuss the logic behind this method with my attorney but he hasn't called me back. I don't want to be an annoying client, but I took a loan out to afford his services and feel I should at least get a call back. I've had to work harder than the liquor commission to work towards my own prosecution as they seemingly admitted I was the only fish they caught in their net so-to-speak and it's worth their efforts to prosecute since sting operations cost the county money and they need to have something to show for it, but I don't feel I should go out of my way to make the process servers life easier but I am definitely not avoiding them. How long should I keep waiting?
I think you need a different attorney.
 
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quincy

Senior Member
I disagree. It can be a smart strategy to make the state waste time and if the state isn't careful and the speedy trial deadlines are missed, the state loses.
You think that evading service of a summons is a good idea? I don't.

Here is a link to Hawaii's Rules of Penal Procedure (see Rule 9):
https://www.courts.state.hi.us/docs/court_rules/rules/hrpp.htm#Rule 9. %OBTAINING THE APPEARANCE
It is far better, in my opinion, to accept the summons instead of having a warrant issue.
 
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Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
You think that evading service of a summons is a good idea? I don't.
I think that the OP has no obligation to go out of his/her way to accept service. That is different from saying that the OP ought to actively duck service. The state has to make good service, and if it is diligent in doing so it will succeed.

In any event, our disagreement over that is simply one of how best to approach the matter, not one indicating the OP needs to replace his/her attorney. You made the recommendation to dump the attorney based on very little information. You don't know exactly what the lawyer counseled the client to do. You don't know the details of the case at hand. And I assume that being in Michigan you have had little experience in Hawaii criminal matters, and certainly not nearly as much as the OP's attorney. So you might consider the OP's attorney knows better how things work there and has reasons for his/her recommendations that you perhaps are not aware, right?

If you had said getting a second opinion from another lawyer might be a good idea, I could get behind that. But advising someone to dump their lawyer without the full facts I cannot support.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I think that the OP has no obligation to go out of his/her way to accept service. That is different from saying that the OP ought to actively duck service. The state has to make good service, and if it is diligent in doing so it will succeed.

In any event, our disagreement over that is simply one of how best to approach the matter, not one indicating the OP needs to replace his/her attorney. You made the recommendation to dump the attorney based on very little information. You don't know exactly what the lawyer counseled the client to do. You don't know the details of the case at hand. And I assume that being in Michigan you have had little experience in Hawaii criminal matters, and certainly not nearly as much as the OP's attorney. So you might consider the OP's attorney knows better how things work there and has reasons for his/her recommendations that you perhaps are not aware, right?

If you had said getting a second opinion from another lawyer might be a good idea, I could get behind that. But advising someone to dump their lawyer without the full facts I cannot support.
Okay. So we are seeing this different.
 
Thank you for responding. He is exactly right in that I am not evading the process server at all. In fact I am the one who just wants to get this over with but I don’t feel it’s my job to go their office and serve myself given how I’ve done just about everything else for the county... and it goes against my lawyers advice. I just don’t know how long to wait. Is there a set time limit for right to speedy trial? Is it in a year? 6-months? I feel bad calling my lawyer more than once to discuss this especially since he never called me back after the second time. He seems busy and I don’t want to question his judgement but everything I’ve read and from what I’ve heard it seems counterproductive to wait. He’s the only attorney on island who handles these sorts of cases so I don’t really have a choice to leave if I want professional representation. Hence why I am just trying to get a general idea. Thanks again for offering up your thoughts.
 
Thank you for posting the legal rules attachment Quincy and forgive my ignorance but do these same rules apply if I was never arrested? The night of the sting I was only given a ticket and allowed to finish my shift at work. The case was dismissed without prejudice because of how poorly the ticket was written when I made my initial court date. It was up to the county to refile. They chose to do so but how does that become a warrant for my arrest? The lawyers aide said that a case of theirs was dropped before because the process server just gave up trying to serve the summons and they felt the case was no longer worth pursuing. She said it only happened once though.. so I’m not sure if the odds are worth sticking to this plan.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank you for responding. He is exactly right in that I am not evading the process server at all. In fact I am the one who just wants to get this over with but I don’t feel it’s my job to go their office and serve myself given how I’ve done just about everything else for the county... and it goes against my lawyers advice. I just don’t know how long to wait. Is there a set time limit for right to speedy trial? Is it in a year? 6-months? I feel bad calling my lawyer more than once to discuss this especially since he never called me back after the second time. He seems busy and I don’t want to question his judgement but everything I’ve read and from what I’ve heard it seems counterproductive to wait. He’s the only attorney on island who handles these sorts of cases so I don’t really have a choice to leave if I want professional representation. Hence why I am just trying to get a general idea. Thanks again for offering up your thoughts.
Thank you for the clarification.

The time for service can be extended upon request of the court, or alternate service can be requested of the court, if there has been difficulty with personal service.

Because you have an attorney, you should rely on his advice and direction or, if you do not trust your attorney, you can replace him.

A question: Do you live on the big island of Hawaii?
 
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