STAND. COM. REP. NO. 874

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 618
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
618 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PATHOLOGICAL INTOXICATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to limit pathological intoxication to intoxication resulting from
use of alcohol or legal drugs taken pursuant to medical advice or
prescription.

     Your Committee finds that current laws relating to
pathological intoxication as the basis for a criminal defense are
not intended to apply to defendants whose intoxication is the
result of a physical condition itself caused by the use over time
of any legal substance, and are not intended to apply to
defendants whose intoxication is attributable to the use of
illegal drugs.  Nonetheless, your Committee finds that there has
been inconsistent application by the courts of these laws,
resulting in the doctrine's application to physical conditions
caused by the use of illegal drugs.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of
Honolulu and the Honolulu Police Department.  Testimony in
opposition to this measure was submitted by the Office of the
Public Defender.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 874
                                   Page 2


     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Limiting the ingested substances used as the basis for
          pathological intoxication to controlled substances,
          except alcohol or drugs taken under medical advice, to
          ensure that over-the-counter drugs and other legal
          substances are not excluded; and

     (2)  Clarifying that the physical abnormality forming a
          basis for pathological intoxication must be a pre-
          existing condition.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.
618, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 618, S.D. 1, and
be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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