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 S.B. No. 1513 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend the burglary law to make it clear that the offense of burglary includes situations in which an individual enters a building, either lawfully or unlawfully, and then remains in a building to commit a crime.

The measure also provides a definition of "dangerous instrument" under the offense of burglary in the first degree.

Testimony in support of the measure was received from the City and County of Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney and the Honolulu Police Department. The Office of the Public Defender testified in opposition to the measure.

Your Committee is informed that the Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled that under existing law, to be convicted of the offense of burglary, the perpetrator must have either had a criminal intent when entering the building, or must have entered the building with no criminal intent, but then remained in the building to commit a crime. The court ruled that these were two distinct types of burglary, so that in the entering and remaining unlawfully type of burglary, the initial entry must have been lawful. This measure makes it clear that in the latter type of burglary, the initial entry is an element of the crime without regard to the entry being lawful or unlawful.

Your Committee also finds that under the existing law covering burglary in the first degree, no definition exists for the term "dangerous instrument". This measure clearly defines what is to be considered a dangerous instrument under the circumstances of burglary in the first degree.

Your Committee has amended the measure by clarifying in section 1 of the measure that for the purposes of committing the offense of burglary, a person may "remain unlawfully", rather than "remain lawfully", in a building, regardless of whether entry was gained lawfully or unlawfully. Your Committee also made a technical, nonsubstantive amendment to conform the measure to recommended drafting procedures.

Your Committee believes that the measure enables prosecutors to try persons who commit a crime against persons or property rights with the offense of burglary regardless of the person's initial intent when gaining access to the premises.

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. 1513, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1513, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.