Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1255, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to create an expungement procedure for juvenile criminal records if the minor was not referred for adjudication.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary, Attorney General, Office of Youth Services, Public Defender, Juvenile Justice Information Committee, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney, and Honolulu Police Department.

The family court system was established to provide special protection for children. This measure affords children the right to obtain an expungement of their juvenile arrest records if they have not been referred for adjudication.

The Juvenile Justice Information Committee, formed pursuant to statutory authority and under the auspices of the Attorney General, has recommended enabling legislation for the expungement of juvenile records.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

The family court testified in oral testimony at the hearing that they are supportive of implementing the measure retroactively. The family court further testified that it could not estimate the number of cases, the number of personnel, or the amount of time it would need to retroactively expunge juvenile arrest records. However, your Committee compliments the family court in seeing the need to apply this measure retroactively. Your Committee requests the family court to expeditiously process expungement orders retroactively.

The age of thirty was chosen as the cutoff point in the belief that young people need to get established in life by that point. However, your Committee believes that persons age thirty and over should not have to suffer the stigma of a juvenile record for an arrest, even though it has not been expunged. For this reason, your Committee finds that it is reasonable for those persons to be able to state under oath that they do not have a juvenile record for an arrest, provided that their situation is applicable to the provisions of this measure. The intent of your Committee is that persons age thirty or older on the effective date of this Act may state under oath that they do not have a juvenile record of an arrest, if applicable.

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 H.B. No. 1255, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1255, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.