Bill Text: HI HB1601 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Criminal Justice Reform.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-28 - The committee(s) on JHA recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB1601 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HB1601-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1601 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to criminal justice reform.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that arrests are commonly made at the initiation of a criminal case, but sometimes occur needlessly when the issuance of a citation to appear in court would have sufficed. Arrests consume a significant portion of the limited resources of understaffed police departments, increase the number of people held in custody before trial, and contribute to overcrowding in correctional facilities. Given Hawaii's high cost of living and the significant percentage of families who live paycheck to paycheck, many arrestees cannot afford to post bail before trial.
The legislature also finds that arrests are highly disruptive to a person's life. Despite the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence on which the justice system is built, arrests cause embarrassment and, in some cases, trauma, when they occur in the presence of family members, neighbors, or coworkers, or are publicized in the media. Further, an arrest can significantly jeopardize the arrestee's housing and employment and set into motion a chain of economic and logistical hardships for the arrestee's family, especially when the arrestee is the main source of household income and cares for multiple dependents.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to reduce the number of unnecessary arrests made in criminal cases by expanding the authorized issuance of citations in lieu of arrest, with certain exceptions.
SECTION 2. Section 803-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By amending its title to read:
"§803-6
Arrest, how made[.]; citations in lieu of arrest; failure to
appear."
2. By amending subsection (b) to read:
"(b) In any case in which it is lawful for a [police]
law enforcement officer to arrest a person without a warrant for a
misdemeanor, petty misdemeanor, or violation, the [police] law
enforcement officer [may, but need not,] shall issue a
citation in lieu of [the requirements of ] making an arrest pursuant
to [[]subsection[]] (a)[, if the police officer finds and
is reasonably satisfied that the person:
(1) Will appear in court at the time
designated;
(2) Has no outstanding arrest warrants which would
justify the person's detention or give indication that the person might fail to
appear in court; and
(3) That the offense is of such nature that
there will be no further police contact on or about the date in question, or in
the immediate future]."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Arrests; Law Enforcement Officer; Citation in Lieu of Arrest
Description:
Requires law enforcement officers to issue citations in lieu of arrest for certain offenses.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
