Formal Opinions

Opinion Letter No. 97-01 February 21, 1997 Names of Suspended Police Officers Are Public [Note:  This opinion was overruled by Peer News LLC v. City and County of Honolulu, 138 Haw. 53, 376 P.3d 1 (2016).] In 1995 the Legislature...

Opinion Letter No. 96-04 December 10, 1996 Information about Requesters of Conviction Data Records Information maintained by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center ("HCJDC") that is provided by persons requesting conviction data constitutes a government record under the UIPA. Upon request, the...

Opinion Letter No. 96-03 August 12, 1996 Access to Deputy Attorney General Timesheets The OIP concluded that segregated timesheets of deputy attorneys general, which only reveal the time spent investigating a complaint of an open meetings law violation, are open...

Opinion Letter No. 96-02 July 16, 1996 Individuals' Identities in Honolulu City Ethics Commission Opinions Confidential [OIP Op. Ltr. No. 05-03 partially overrules this opinion to the extent that it states or implies that the UIPA’s privacy exception in section 92F-13(1),...

Opinion Letter No. 96-01 June 18, 1996 Electronic Transcripts of Council Meetings Computer diskettes containing real time captioning of public meetings of the Honolulu City Council, or its committees, must be made available for public inspection and copying upon request. Televised meetings...

Opinion Letter No. 95-24 October 6, 1995 Summaries and Factual Information from Management Opinion Survey Disclosable Verbatim Comments and Opinions Are Confidential [Please note that opinions discussing the deliberative process privilege have been materially affected by the Hawaii Supreme Court’s majority...

Opinion Letter No. 95-23 September 12, 1995 Disclosure of Allegations of Research Misconduct A University faculty member sent a written statement to the University’s research ethics committee ("Committee") that accused a researcher of scientific misconduct. The Committee conducted an informal inquiry and...

Opinion Letter No. 95-22 September 12, 1995 Transcripts of the HLRB Prohibited Practice Proceedings Transcripts prepared by a freelance court reporter in connection with a prohibited practice proceeding under section 89-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, should be released under the UIPA...

Opinion Letter No. 95-21 August 28, 1995 Disclosure of Closed Police Investigation Reports [OIP Op. Ltr. No. 05-03 partially overrules this opinion to the extent that it states or implies that the UIPA’s privacy exception in section 92F-13(1), HRS, either...

Opinion Letter No. 95-20 August 21, 1995 Traffic Citations Available for Public Inspection Under the UIPA, the court’s nonadministrative records are not subject to the UIPA’s disclosure provisions. Copies of traffic citations maintained by the District Court’s Traffic Violations Bureau ("TVB") are...