Hawaii-Pardon

The governor issues pardons and is authorized but not required to consult the parole board for a recommendation.  The board investigates each case and interviews the applicant, but there is no public hearing.  It then makes a recommendation to the attorney general’s office, which conducts its own investigation and makes a recommendation to the governor.  Five-year eligibility waiting period, with all fines paid and no pending charges.  Pardon relieves all legal disabilities but does not expunge the record, and a pardoned conviction may be used as a predicate.  The pardon process is regular, but pardons have been infrequent in recent years.