REPORT TITLE:
Use of force justification


DESCRIPTION:
Limits the justification for use of force against a minor.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2079
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO USE OF FORCE.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 703-309, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§703-309  Use of force by persons with special
 
 4 responsibility for care, discipline, or safety of others.  The
 
 5 use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable
 
 6 under the following circumstances:
 
 7      (1)  The actor is the parent or guardian or other person
 
 8           similarly responsible for the general care and
 
 9           supervision of a minor, or a person acting at the
 
10           request of the parent, guardian, or other responsible
 
11           person, and:
 
12           (a)  The force is employed with due regard for the age
 
13                and size of the minor and is reasonably related to
 
14                the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the
 
15                welfare of the minor, including the prevention or
 
16                punishment of the minor's misconduct; [and]
 
17           (b)  The force [used] is not designed to cause or known
 
18                to create a risk of causing substantial bodily
 
19                injury, disfigurement, extreme pain or mental
 
20                distress, or neurological damage[.]; and
 

 
Page 2                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2079
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           (c)  The force does not involve any contact with the
 
 2                minor's head or neck.
 
 3      (2)  The actor is a teacher or a person otherwise entrusted
 
 4           with the care or supervision for a special purpose of a
 
 5           minor, and:
 
 6           (a)  The actor believes that the force used is
 
 7                necessary to further that special purpose,
 
 8                including maintenance of reasonable discipline in
 
 9                a school, class, or other group, and that the use
 
10                of force is consistent with the welfare of the
 
11                minor; and
 
12           (b)  The degree of force, if it had been used by the
 
13                parent or guardian of the minor, would not be
 
14                unjustifiable under paragraph (1)(b).
 
15      (3)  The actor is the guardian or other person similarly
 
16           responsible for the general care and supervision of an
 
17           incompetent person, and:
 
18           (a)  The force is employed with due regard for the age
 
19                and size of the incompetent person and is
 
20                reasonably related to the purpose of safeguarding
 
21                or promoting the welfare of the incompetent
 
22                person, including the prevention of the
 

 
 
 
Page 3                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2079
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1                incompetent person's misconduct, or, when such
 
 2                incompetent person is in a hospital or other
 
 3                institution for the incompetent person's care and
 
 4                custody, for the maintenance of reasonable
 
 5                discipline in the institution; and
 
 6           (b)  The force used is not designed to cause or known
 
 7                to create a risk of causing substantial bodily
 
 8                injury, disfigurement, extreme pain or mental
 
 9                distress, or neurological damage.
 
10      (4)  The actor is a doctor or other therapist or a person
 
11           assisting the doctor or therapist at the doctor's or
 
12           therapist's direction, and:
 
13           (a)  The force is used for the purpose of administering
 
14                a recognized form of treatment which the actor
 
15                believes to be adapted to promoting the physical
 
16                or mental health of the patient; and
 
17           (b)  The treatment is administered with the consent of
 
18                the patient, or, if the patient is a minor or an
 
19                incompetent person, with the consent of the
 
20                minor's or incompetent person's parent or guardian
 
21                or other person legally competent to consent in
 
22                the minor's or incompetent person's behalf, or the
 

 
 
 
Page 4                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2079
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1                treatment is administered in an emergency when the
 
 2                actor believes that no one competent to consent
 
 3                can be consulted and that a reasonable person,
 
 4                wishing to safeguard the welfare of the patient,
 
 5                would consent.
 
 6      (5)  The actor is a warden or other authorized official of a
 
 7           correctional institution, and:
 
 8           (a)  The actor believes that the force used is
 
 9                necessary for the purpose of enforcing the lawful
 
10                rules or procedures of the institution; and
 
11           (b)  The nature or degree of force used is not
 
12                forbidden by other provisions of the law governing
 
13                the conduct of correctional institutions; and
 
14           (c)  If deadly force is used, its use is otherwise
 
15                justifiable under this chapter.
 
16      (6)  The actor is a person responsible for the safety of a
 
17           vessel or an aircraft or a person acting at the
 
18           direction of the person responsible for the safety of a
 
19           vessel or an aircraft, and:
 
20           (a)  The actor believes that the force used is
 
21                necessary to prevent interference with the
 
22                operation of the vessel or aircraft or obstruction
 

 
 
 
Page 5                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2079
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1                of the execution of a lawful order, unless the
 
 2                actor's belief in the lawfulness of the order is
 
 3                erroneous and the actor's error is due to
 
 4                ignorance or mistake as to the law defining
 
 5                authority; and
 
 6           (b)  If deadly force is used, its use is otherwise
 
 7                justifiable under this chapter.
 
 8      (7)  The actor is a person who is authorized or required by
 
 9           law to maintain order or decorum in a vehicle, train,
 
10           or other carrier, or in a place where others are
 
11           assembled, and:
 
12           (a)  The actor believes that the force used is
 
13                necessary for that purpose; and
 
14           (b)  The force used is not designed to cause or known
 
15                to create a substantial risk of causing death,
 
16                bodily injury or extreme mental distress."
 
17      SECTION 2.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
18 New statutory material is underscored.
 
19      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
20 
 
21                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________