HCR350

WHEREAS, the Family Court has exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings involving a felony act allegedly committed by a juvenile under the age of eighteen pursuant to section 571‑11, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, if the juvenile was between the age of fourteen and eighteen at the time the act was allegedly committed, the Family Court can waive its jurisdiction and order the juvenile held for criminal proceedings pursuant to section 571‑22, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, however, the Family Court must complete a full investigation and hearing to determine whether certain criteria exist to warrant excluding the juvenile from the juvenile justice system; and

WHEREAS, while there are thousands of juvenile criminal cases annually, there have been only about one hundred judicial waiver requests over the past ten years; and

WHEREAS, in the past ten years, there have been nine petitions for waiver of a juvenile alleged to have committed an act that would constitute murder if committed by an adult and waiver was granted in all nine of those cases; and

WHEREAS, a fifteen-year old juvenile is alleged to have committed an act in June 2007 that would constitute murder if committed by an adult and, nine months later, the Family Court, after four postponements, still has not decided whether to waive its jurisdiction over the juvenile so that he may be tried as an adult; and

WHEREAS, in response to the pending case and the lack of a Family Court decision on the waiver petition, legislation has been introduced in 2008 that would require waiver of Family Court jurisdiction over juveniles between the age of fifteen and seventeen alleged to have committed an act that would constitute murder if committed by an adult; and

WHEREAS, the existing law regarding waiver of juveniles appears to be working but its interpretation and application by the Family Court in one case has given rise to concerns about its efficacy; and

WHEREAS, it is important to periodically examine the Family Court's judicial waiver process to determine whether it is adequately protecting not only juveniles, but the community as well; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Judiciary is requested to convene a task force to review the Family Court's judicial waiver process involving juvenile felony defendants; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in convening the task force, the Judiciary is requested to include: at least one representative each of the Judiciary, Department of the Attorney General, Office of the Public Defender, Department of Human Services, Office of Youth Services, and Office or Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of each county; and a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association in private practice with experience in criminal defense and representing juveniles in Family Court; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in reviewing the Family Court's judicial waiver process involving juvenile felony defendants, the task force, among other things, is requested to:

(1) Examine the application of evidence that a juvenile is committable to an institution for the mentally defective or retarded or the mentally ill which may be used to bar a judicial waiver;

(2) Identify concerns that arise during the Family Court's judicial waiver process that affect the rights and likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation of a juvenile, as well as affect the prospects for adequate protection of the public;

(3) Identify any circumstances that may be suitable for an "automatic judicial waiver";

(4) Consider the need for speedy processing, disposition, and ruling on the matter of judicial waiver;

(5) Recommend possible statutory amendments to address issues and concerns; and

(6) Meet at least twice monthly; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judiciary is requested to provide administrative, professional, technical, and clerical support to the task force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judiciary is requested to submit a report of the task force's findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2009 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Senior Judge of the Family Court, Attorney General, Public Defender, Executive Director of the Office of Youth Services, the prosecuting attorney of each county, and the President of the Hawaii State Bar Association.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Juvenile Felony Defendants; Family Court

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	350
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII