Requiring Judges To Consider Past Trauma Of Youth Offenders Aim Of New Hawaii Law
Hawaiʻi is poised to become one of the first states in the nation to require a judge to consider a child’s exposure to trauma before charging the youth as an adult.
Senate Bill 2108, which would also bar minor victims of trafficking or sexual assault from being charged as adults for going after their abuser, is the state’s latest juvenile justice reform.
The move reflects research that shows most youth in the criminal justice system have experienced significant trauma – something experts, judges and even wardens say can be better addressed through a more rehabilitative approach on the juvenile side rather than a punitive one on the adult side. Experts say that incarceration at restrictive facilities meant for adults and for lengthy sentences is rarely effective.
“We send young people to adult court because we think it’s going to make us safer. In fact, it is probably making us less safe,” Jessica Feierman, chief legal officer at the Juvenile Law Center, a national group working on youth justice issues, said. “The adult court is not set up to provide the kinds of services and supports that will help young people to thrive.”
It’s rare for juveniles to be charged as adults in Hawaiʻi. Between 2014 and 2023, only 36 cases were moved from family court to adult criminal court through a process known as a waiver, according to the Attorney General’s Office. In 2022, the number was zero.
In the last three years, there have been a smattering of cases. Shaedan-Styles McEnroe-Keaulii, now 19, is facing murder charges related to a shooting at a cockfight in Māʻili two years ago. Branston Medeiros pleaded guilty in 2025 to killing another teenager in Mākaha in 2023 when he was 16. Chantston Pila Kekawa was 17 when he allegedly shot a rancher in 2024, landing him in lockup facing second-degree murder and weapons charges.
It’s unclear whether this bill would have changed anything in those cases or what impact it will have on future cases. Aside from specific cases involving a victim of trafficking or sexual abuse, the bill doesn’t require judges to keep teens in the family court, but rather leaves judges with the discretion about when to transfer the case to adult court.
