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. 1609 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish possession of items stolen from two or more persons as prima facie evidence that the possessor knew that the items were stolen.

Testimony in support of the measure was received from the Honolulu Police Department and a private citizen. The Office of the Public Defender submitted its concerns on the measure.

Your Committee finds that under existing law, a person found to be in possession of stolen property can be arrested for the offense of detaining stolen property. However, these cases are seldom prosecuted since the prosecuting attorney must prove that the arrested person knew that the property was stolen. This measure will give the prosecuting attorney a more effective means of building a case against the possessor of stolen property.

Your Committee has amended the measure by clarifying that the items must be clearly identifiable as stolen to meet the prima facie standard.

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. 1609, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1609, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.