REPORT TITLE:
Penal Code; Law Enf. Officer 


DESCRIPTION:
Defines "law enforcement" officer; changes references from
"peace" officer to "law enforcement" officer.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2634
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO THE PENAL CODE.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 703-307, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§703-307  Use of force in law enforcement.(1)  Subject to
 
 4 the provisions of this section and of section 703-310, the use of
 
 5 force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable when
 
 6 the actor is making or assisting in making an arrest and the
 
 7 actor believes that such force is immediately necessary to effect
 
 8 a lawful arrest.
 
 9      (2)  The use of force is not justifiable under this section
 
10 unless:
 
11      (a)  The actor makes known the purpose of the arrest or
 
12           believes that it is otherwise known by or cannot
 
13           reasonably be made known to the person to be arrested;
 
14           and
 
15      (b)  When the arrest is made under a warrant, the warrant is
 
16           valid or believed by the actor to be valid.
 
17      (3)  The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this
 
18 section unless:
 
19      (a)  The arrest is for a felony; and
 

 
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 1      (b)  The person effecting the arrest is authorized to act as
 
 2           a [peace] law enforcement officer or is assisting a
 
 3           person whom he believes to be authorized to act as a
 
 4           [peace] law enforcement officer; and
 
 5      (c)  The actor believes that the force employed creates no
 
 6           substantial risk of injury to innocent persons; and
 
 7      (d)  The actor believes that:
 
 8           (i)  The crimes for which the arrest is made involved
 
 9                conduct including the use or threatened use of
 
10                deadly force; or
 
11          (ii)  There is a substantial risk that the person to be
 
12                arrested will cause death or serious bodily injury
 
13                if his apprehension is delayed.
 
14      (4)  The use of force to prevent the escape of an arrested
 
15 person from custody is justifiable when the force could
 
16 justifiably have been employed to effect the arrest under which
 
17 the person is in custody, except that a guard or other person
 
18 authorized to act as a [peace] law enforcement officer is
 
19 justified in using force which he believes to be immediately
 
20 necessary to prevent the escape from a detention facility.
 
21      (5)  A private person who is summoned by a [peace] law
 
22 enforcement officer to assist in effecting an unlawful arrest is
 
23 justified in using any force which he would be justified in using
 

 
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 1 f the arrest were lawful, provided that he does not believe the
 
 2 arrest is unlawful.  A private person who assists another private
 
 3 person in effecting an unlawful arrest, or who, not being
 
 4 summoned, assists a [peace] law enforcement officer in effecting
 
 5 an unlawful arrest, is justified in using any force which he
 
 6 would be justified in using if the arrest were lawful, provided
 
 7 that he believes the arrest is lawful, and the arrest would be
 
 8 lawful if the facts were as he believes them to be.
 
 9      (6)  For the purposes of this section, "law enforcement
 
10 officer" means any public servant, whether employed by the State
 
11 or county or by the United States, vested by law with a duty to
 
12 maintain public order or, to make arrests for offenses or to
 
13 enforce the criminal laws, whether that duty extends to all
 
14 offenses or is limited to a specific class of offenses."
 
15      SECTION 2.  Section 707-701, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 amended to read as follows:
 
17      "§707-701  Murder in the first degree.(1)  A person
 
18 commits the offense of murder in the first degree if the person
 
19 intentionally or knowingly causes the death of:
 
20      (a)  More than one person in the same or separate incident;
 
21      (b)  A [peace] law enforcement officer, judge, or prosecutor
 
22           arising out of the performance of official duties;
 
23      (c)  A person known by the defendant to be a witness in a
 

 
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 1           criminal prosecution;
 
 2      (d)  A person by a hired killer, in which event both the
 
 3           person hired and the person responsible for hiring the
 
 4           killer shall be punished under this section; or
 
 5      (e)  A person while the defendant was imprisoned.
 
 6      (2)  Murder in the first degree is a felony for which the
 
 7 defendant shall be sentenced to imprisonment as provided in
 
 8 section 706-656.
 
 9      (3)  For the purposes of this section, "law enforcement
 
10 officer" means any public servant, whether employed by the State
 
11 or county or by the United States, vested by law with a duty to
 
12 maintain public order or, to make arrests for offenses or to
 
13 enforce the criminal laws, whether that duty extends to all
 
14 offenses or is limited to a specific class of offenses."
 
15      SECTION 3.  Section 711-1105, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 amended to read as follows:
 
17      "§711-1105  Obstructing.(1)  A person commits the offense
 
18 of obstructing if, having no legal privilege to do so, the person
 
19 knowingly or recklessly obstructs any highway or public passage,
 
20 whether alone or with others. 
 
21      (2)  A person in a gathering commits the offense of
 
22 obstructing if the person refuses to obey a reasonable request or
 
23 order by a [peace] law enforcement officer to move: 
 

 
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 1      (a)  To prevent obstruction of a highway or other public
 
 2           passage; or 
 
 3      (b)  To maintain public safety by dispersing those gathered
 
 4           in dangerous proximity to a public hazard. 
 
 5      (3)  An order to move under subsection (2)(a), addressed to
 
 6 a person whose speech or other lawful behavior attracts an
 
 7 obstructing audience, is not reasonable if the obstruction can be
 
 8 readily remedied by police control. 
 
 9      (4)  A person is not guilty of violating subsection (1)
 
10 solely because persons gather to hear the person speak or because
 
11 the person is a member of such a gathering. 
 
12      (5)  Obstructing is a petty misdemeanor if the person
 
13 persists in the conduct specified in subsection (1) after a
 
14 warning by a [peace] law enforcement officer; otherwise it is a
 
15 violation.
 
16      (6)  For the purposes of this section, "law enforcement
 
17 officer" means any public servant, whether employed by the State
 
18 or any county or by the United States, vested by law with a duty
 
19 to maintain public order or, to make arrests for offenses or to
 
20 enforce the criminal laws, whether that duty extends to all
 
21 offenses or is limited to a specific class of offenses."
 
22      SECTION 4.  Section 710-1011, 710-1
 
23 016, and 710-1026, Hawaii Revised Statutes, are amended by
 

 
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 1 substituting the term "law enforcement officer", or like term,
 
 2 wherever the term "peace officer", or like term, appears, as the
 
 3 context requires.
 
 4      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 5 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 6      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 7 
 
 8                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________