{"data":{"id":"us-hi/haw.-rev.-stat.-710-1076","jurisdiction":"us-hi","citation":"Haw. Rev. Stat. § 710-1076","heading":"Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.","body":"(1) A person commits the offense of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence if, believing that an official proceeding or investigation is pending or about to be instituted, the person:\n\n(a) Destroys, mutilates, conceals, removes, or alters physical evidence with intent to impair its verity or availability in the pending or prospective official proceeding or investigation; or\n\n(b) Makes, presents, offers, or uses any false physical evidence, knowing it to be false, with intent that it be introduced in the pending or prospective official proceeding or investigation, or with intent to mislead a public servant who is or may be engaged in the pending or prospective official proceeding or investigation.\n\n(2) For the purposes of this section, \"physical evidence\" includes any article, object, document, record, or other thing of physical substance.\n\n(3) Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence is a misdemeanor. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; gen ch 1993; am L 2024, c 242, §2]\n\nCOMMENTARY ON §710-1076\n\nOfficial proceedings rely on the integrity of physical evidence, in addition to the integrity of witnesses and jurors, to achieve equitable results. To allow the impairment or falsification of physical evidence would undermine greatly the fairness and impartiality of the judicial process.\n\nThis section makes it an offense both to conceal true evidence and to offer false evidence, since to do either would obviously misrepresent the truth which it is the object of the proceeding to determine. In both cases, the actor must have an intent that the concealment or falsification should have an effect in the proceeding. \"Physical evidence\" is defined principally to distinguish it from that evidence which is offered as testimony by witnesses.","path":["HI Code","Division 5","Title 37","Chapter 710"],"source_url":"http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0710/HRS_0710-1076.htm","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:11Z","sha256":"cbee0577d2ffb2ebe1efb38e5093f9ebe1db11b5ea4b89e8f42eeea7fccb20ef","source_id":"us-hi","stale":false,"prev":"us-hi/haw.-rev.-stat.-710-1075.5","next":"us-hi/haw.-rev.-stat.-710-1077"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}