Public Defender Antoinette Lilley: The "Badass" Attorney Turning Impossible Cases Around

From $500,000 to Zero: The Power of Effective Advocacy

In Hawaii's criminal justice system, where high bail amounts often function as de facto detention orders, Public Defender Antoinette Lilley has earned a reputation for achieving what many consider impossible.

In a recent case, a mutual client was charged with a serious crime and had their bail set at a very high $500,000. Usually, people in this situation would have to stay in jail for months before their trial. But after just three weeks in custody, Lilley secured Supervised Release for her client.

Beyond Legal Representation: The Lilley Difference

What sets Lilley apart from many others is the thoroughness with which she supports her clients:

Despite the well-known challenges of visiting OCCC and a likely heavy caseload, she made an early trip to see her client in person.
She paired empathetic listening with consistent follow-through.
She maintained communication with the family, not just the client—a critical lifeline when phone access from jail is limited and expensive.

This last point deserves special attention. While many attorneys limit communication strictly to the defendant, Lilley made sure the client’s family received timely updates. For incarcerated individuals dealing with predatory phone systems, minimal access, and long queues, this additional layer of communication proved invaluable.

The Reality of High Bail in Hawaii

When bail exceeds $200,000 in Hawaii, it effectively functions as a no-bail hold for most defendants. The reality is stark: without home ownership or substantial assets, such amounts become functionally impossible to meet.

Lilley’s motion didn’t just acknowledge financial hardship—it exposed the deeper structural barriers baked into our bail system. She pointed out that while the defendant’s family did have a co-ownership stake in an “Ohana” or multigenerational home, they couldn’t use it as collateral because they didn’t hold full ownership. Despite that, she proactively established that the defendant had a stable, supportive residence waiting—demonstrating that release was not only safe, but logistically sound.

Safety Through Conditions, Not Cash

Many times, the public safety justification for high bail amounts collapses under closer scrutiny. If a person poses no risk of flight and no danger to the community, then why should their ability to pay be the deciding factor in whether they wait for trial at home or behind bars? Freedom shouldn’t hinge on finances when the court's real concern is safety, not wealth.

As Lilley demonstrates through her work, conditions—not cash—keep communities safe:

House arrest
Stay-away orders
Electronic monitoring
Substance use restrictions

When these conditions are violated, bail can be reimposed. Until then, Supervised Release represents not just an appropriate alternative but a more just one.

Preventing Costly System Errors

Lilley's attention to detail extends beyond the big bail reduction win. I don’t believe I’ve ever met Ms. Lilley, but I did dig up an old email from 2021, where she filed a motion to recall a bench warrant and proactively included language to "set aside bail bond forfeiture"—addressing a quirk of Hawaii's judicial system that often requires separate legal actions at additional cost.

We all logically understand that a bail bond can’t be both reinstated and forfeited at the same time. That would be like claiming someone is both pregnant and not pregnant at the same time as well. A bond is either active or it isn’t. But in Hawai‘i courtrooms, the baby gets split. Even after reinstating the bond, a separate motion is required to set aside the forfeiture, and that motion comes with a price tag—usually in the form of legal fees and court costs.

In her motion to recall the bench warrant, Lilley included a simple yet powerful line: “The bail bond forfeiture is to be set aside.” That one sentence saved approximately $1,250 in unnecessary costs—$1,000 in private legal fees for a separate motion, plus $250 in court costs. It was a small detail with a big impact, and a clear example of the foresight that has become her hallmark.

A Force in the Courtroom

I didn’t coin the word “badass” to describe Antoinette Lilley—that came straight from a Sheriff in the cellblock.

The client who is the subject of this newsletter was still in custody, awaiting his bail reduction hearing, when a Sheriff asked him who his public defender was. The client replied, “Antoinette Lilley.” The Sheriff’s response?

❝

“She’s a badass. You’ll see.”

And sure enough, after the hearing—when the client walked out with Supervised Release instead of the original $500,000 bail—that same Sheriff nodded and said:

❝

“What I told you. She’s a badass.”

You don’t hear that kind of courtroom reputation handed out lightly—especially in a courthouse that sees hundreds of cases each week.

But Ms. Lilley has earned it. Dropping bail from $500,000 to zero in under three weeks is more than just a win—it’s an outlier in a system where most people wait months or years for relief.

Keep up the good fight public defenders. You’ll rarely ever get any credit for a job well done, but once in a while, you may make a jail mail feature 😉.

Shout out to all the PDs out there!

-Got Bail Nick