REPORT TITLE:
Self Defense; Verbal Abuse


DESCRIPTION:
Allows a person to use force in self defense against a family or
household member when the person reasonably believes that such
force is immediately necessary for protection against imminent
physical abuse as a result of a pattern of extreme psychological
abuse or the actor's reasonably held cultural beliefs.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2078
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT
RELATING TO THE USE OF FORCE IN SELF-PROTECTION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that there is a need to
 
 2 allow for proof of extreme psychological abuse, or evidence of
 
 3 cultural heritage, to be used to bolster a claim of self-defense,
 
 4 consistent with a recent ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court.
 
 5      In the unanimous decision of Nguyen v. State, No. S99G0014
 
 6 (Sept. 20, 1999), the Georgia Supreme Court recognized that a
 
 7 pattern of psychological abuse is relevant to a person's
 
 8 perception of imminent physical danger.  Georgia's ruling is
 
 9 unique in that while nearly every state now recognizes expert
 
10 testimony on the effects of battering in support of a self-
 
11 defense claim, few courts have ruled that psychological testimony
 
12 is admissible absent evidence of physical abuse.  Under the
 
13 Georgia case, to establish a self-defense claim, the
 
14 psychological abuse must have been so extreme that it engendered
 
15 a reasonable belief in the imminence of physical abuse.
 
16      Going even further, the Georgia case also allows evidence of
 
17 cultural heritage to help establish the defendant's fear of
 
18 imminent physical danger.  The court found that there could arise
 
19 a situation in which an accused, based on the cultural beliefs,
 
20 values, and traditions of the accused's family, friends, and
 

 
Page 2                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2078
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 associates, might reasonably believe that imminent physical harm
 
 2 would be inflicted by another person consistent with that
 
 3 cultural background.
 
 4      SECTION 2.  Section 703-304, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:
 
 6      "(1)  Subject to the provisions of this section and of
 
 7 section 703-308, the use of force upon or toward another person
 
 8 is justifiable when the actor [believes]:
 
 9      (a)  Believes that such force is immediately necessary for
 
10           the purpose of protecting [himself] the actor against
 
11           the use of unlawful force by the other person on the
 
12           present occasion[.]; or
 
13      (b)  Reasonably believes that such force is immediately
 
14           necessary for the purpose of protecting the actor
 
15           against imminent physical harm by the other person on
 
16           the present occasion, as a result of:
 
17           (i)  A pattern of extreme psychological abuse inflicted
 
18                on the actor by the other person; or
 
19          (ii)  The actor's reasonably held cultural beliefs,
 
20                values, or traditions; and
 
21           the actor and the other person are family or household
 
22           members as defined in section 709-906."
 
23      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 

 
Page 3                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2078
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 2      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 3 
 
 4                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________