REPORT TITLE:
Minors


DESCRIPTION:
Permits court in certain cases to waive jurisdiction of other
felony charges arising from the same episode to which the minor
was waived.  Provides for public inspection of a minor's legal
records if the proceeding or case involves an act resulting in
the death of a victim.  (SB1485 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1485
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO MINORS.
 


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 571-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "�571-22  Waiver of jurisdiction; transfer to other courts.
 
 4 (a)  The court may waive jurisdiction and order a minor or adult
 
 5 held for criminal proceedings after full investigation and
 
 6 hearing where the person during the person's minority, but on or
 
 7 after the person's sixteenth birthday, is alleged to have
 
 8 committed an act that would constitute a felony if committed by
 
 9 an adult, and the court finds that:
 
10      (1)  There is no evidence the person is committable to an
 
11           institution for the mentally defective or retarded or
 
12           the mentally ill;
 
13      (2)  The person is not treatable in any available
 
14           institution or facility within the State designed for
 
15           the care and treatment of children; or
 
16      (3)  The safety of the community requires that the person be
 
17           subject to judicial restraint for a period extending
 
18           beyond the person's minority. 
 
19      (b)  The court may waive jurisdiction and order a minor or
 

 
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 1 adult held for criminal proceedings if, [incident to a] after a
 
 2 full investigation and hearing, the court finds that:
 
 3      (1)  The person during the person's minority, but on or
 
 4           after the person's fourteenth birthday, is alleged to
 
 5           have committed an act that would constitute a felony if 
 
 6           committed by an adult and either:
 
 7           (A)  The act resulted in serious bodily injury to a
 
 8                victim;
 
 9           (B)  The act would constitute a class A felony if
 
10                committed by an adult; or
 
11           (C)  The person has more than one prior adjudication
 
12                for acts [which] that would constitute felonies if
 
13                committed by an adult; and
 
14      (2)  There is no evidence the person is committable to an
 
15           institution for the mentally defective or retarded or
 
16           the mentally ill.
 
17      (c)  The factors to be considered in deciding whether
 
18 jurisdiction should be waived under subsection (a) or (b) are as
 
19 follows:
 
20      (1)  The seriousness of the alleged offense;
 
21      (2)  Whether the alleged offense was committed in an
 
22           aggressive, violent, premeditated, or wilful manner;
 
23      (3)  Whether the alleged offense was against persons or
 

 
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 1           against property, greater weight being given to
 
 2           offenses against persons, especially if personal injury
 
 3           resulted;
 
 4      (4)  The desirability of trial and disposition of the entire
 
 5           offense in one court when the minor's associates in the
 
 6           alleged offense are adults who will be charged with a
 
 7           crime;
 
 8      (5)  The sophistication and maturity of the minor as
 
 9           determined by consideration of the minor's home,
 
10           environmental situation, emotional attitude, and
 
11           pattern of living;
 
12      (6)  The record and previous history of the minor, including
 
13           previous contacts with the family court, other law
 
14           enforcement agencies, courts in other jurisdictions,
 
15           prior periods of probation to the family court, or
 
16           prior commitments to juvenile institutions;
 
17      (7)  The prospects for adequate protection of the public and
 
18           the likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation of the
 
19           minor (if the minor is found to have committed the
 
20           alleged offense) by the use of procedures, services,
 
21           and facilities currently available to the family court;
 
22           and
 
23      (8)  All other relevant matters.
 

 
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 1      (d)  The court may waive jurisdiction and order a minor or
 
 2 adult held for criminal proceedings if, [incident to a] after a
 
 3 full investigation and hearing, the court finds that:
 
 4      (1)  The person during the person's minority is alleged to
 
 5           have committed an act that would constitute murder in
 
 6           the first degree or second degree or attempted murder
 
 7           in the first degree or second degree if committed by an
 
 8           adult; and
 
 9      (2)  There is no evidence the person is committable to an
 
10           institution for the mentally defective or retarded or
 
11           the mentally ill.
 
12      (e)  Transfer of a minor for criminal proceedings terminates
 
13 the jurisdiction of the court over the minor with respect to any
 
14 subsequent acts that would otherwise be within the court's
 
15 jurisdiction under section 571-11(1) and thereby confers
 
16 jurisdiction over the minor to a court of competent criminal
 
17 jurisdiction.  
 
18      (f)  If criminal proceedings instituted under subsection
 
19 (a), (b), or (d) result in an acquittal or other discharge of the
 
20 minor involved, no petition shall be filed thereafter in any
 
21 family court based on the same facts as were alleged in the
 
22 criminal proceeding.
 
23      (g)  A minor shall not be subject to criminal prosecution
 

 
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 1 based on the facts giving rise to a petition filed under this
 
 2 chapter, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
 
 3      (h)  Where the petition has been filed in a circuit other
 
 4 than the minor's residence, the judge, in the judge's discretion,
 
 5 may transfer the case to the family court of the circuit of the
 
 6 minor's residence.
 
 7      (i)  When a petition is filed bringing a minor before the
 
 8 court under section 571-11(1) and (2), and the minor resides
 
 9 outside of the circuit, but within the State, the court, after a
 
10 finding as to the allegations in the petition, may certify the
 
11 case for disposition to the family court having jurisdiction
 
12 where the minor resides.  Thereupon, the court shall accept the
 
13 case and may dispose of the case as if the petition was
 
14 originally filed in that court.  Whenever a case is so certified,
 
15 the certifying court shall forward to the receiving court
 
16 certified copies of all pertinent legal and social records.
 
17      (j)  If the court waives jurisdiction pursuant to subsection
 
18 (b) or (d), the court also may waive its jurisdiction with
 
19 respect to any other felony charges arising from the same episode
 
20 to the charge for which the minor was waived."
 
21      SECTION 2.  Section 571-84, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
22 amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
 
23      "(e)  The records of any police department, and of any
 

 
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 1 juvenile crime prevention bureau thereof, relating to any
 
 2 proceedings authorized under section 571-11 shall be confidential
 
 3 and shall be open to inspection and use only by persons whose
 
 4 official duties are concerned with this chapter, except as
 
 5 provided in subsections (d)[,] and (f)[, and (j)] or as otherwise
 
 6 ordered by the court."
 
 7      SECTION 3.  Section 571-84.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "[[]�571-84.6[]]  Juvenile] Minor law violators; proceedings
 
10 and records not confidential.(a)  As used in this section:
 
11      "Legal record" means petitions, complaints, motions, and
 
12 other papers filed in any case; transcripts of testimony taken by
 
13 the court; and findings, judgments, orders, decrees, and other
 
14 papers and adjudication data, other than social records, filed in
 
15 proceedings before the court.
 
16      "Social record" means those social and clinical studies,
 
17 reports, or examinations prepared in any case pursuant to this
 
18 chapter.
 
19      (b)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, in any
 
20 proceeding in which a minor age fourteen years of age or older
 
21 has been adjudicated by the court under section 571-11(1) for an
 
22 act that[,] if committed by an adult would:
 
23      (1)  Be murder in the first degree or second degree or
 

 
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 1           attempted murder in the first degree;
 
 2      (2)  Result in serious bodily injury to or death of a
 
 3           victim;
 
 4      (3)  Be a class A felony; or
 
 5      (4)  Be a felony and the minor has more than one prior
 
 6           adjudication for acts [which] that would constitute
 
 7           felonies if committed by an adult[;],
 
 8 all legal records related to the above stated proceeding shall be
 
 9 open for public inspection, unless the administrative judge of
 
10 the family court or the judge's designee finds in writing that
 
11 there are significant and compelling circumstances peculiar to
 
12 the case of such a nature that public inspection would be
 
13 inconsistent with or defeat the express purpose of this section.
 
14 All social records shall be kept confidential except as provided
 
15 in section 571-84.
 
16      (c)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, in any
 
17 case in which a minor age sixteen years of age or older comes
 
18 within section 571-11(1) is taken into custody for an act that[,]
 
19 if committed by an adult would:
 
20      (1)  Be murder in the first degree or second degree or
 
21           attempted murder in the first degree;
 
22      (2)  Result in serious bodily injury to or death of a
 
23           victim;
 

 
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 1      (3)  Be a class A felony and the minor has one or more prior
 
 2           adjudications for an act [which] that would constitute
 
 3           a felony if committed by an adult; [and] or
 
 4      (4)  Be a class B or C felony and the minor has more than
 
 5           one prior adjudication for acts [which] that would
 
 6           constitute felonies if committed by an adult[;],
 
 7 all legal proceedings related to the above stated case shall be
 
 8 open to the public unless the administrative judge of the family
 
 9 court or the judge's designee finds in writing that there are
 
10 significant and compelling circumstances peculiar to the case of
 
11 such a nature that an open proceeding would be inconsistent with
 
12 or defeat the express purpose of this section."
 
13      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
14 New statutory material is underscored.
 
15      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.