STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2161

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2180

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2180 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to clarify the definition of an included offense to expressly include offenses charged via felony complaint.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu and Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui.

Your Committee finds that as a matter of law, all felony cases can be initiated for prosecution via felony complaint or indictment and, in specific types of felony charges, cases can be initiated via information. The method of initiating a case is frequently chosen based on the specific facts of the individual case. Your Committee further finds that "lesser included offenses" are crimes in which the lesser offense contains all the elements of a greater offense with the caveat that the greater offense contains one or more additional elements to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Under existing Hawaii law, a defendant may be convicted of a lesser included offense in felony cases initiated through indictment or information, but not through felony complaint. This measure will increase consistency in felony case prosecution by authorizing judges and juries to consider lesser included offenses in cases initiated through felony complaint.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2035, to encourage further discussion;

(2) Inserting a savings clause to clarify that the effect of this measure is for prospective offenses; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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. 2180, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2180, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair