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State v. Nakata8/2/1994
responsible for hearing DUI jury trials and that the prosecution rarely plea-bargains DUI offenses to lesser charges due to the enhanced sentencing scheme provided in HRS § 291-4 for repeat offenders. In passing Act 128, a legislative committee stated that
there is currently a backlog of approximately 3,000 DUI cases. . . . high percentage of these DUI cases involve first time offenders. . . . This bill will alleviate the current backlog that is overwhelming the judicial system, and will allow for timely adjudication of repeat offenders who pose the greatest risk to the community and public safety.
Sen. Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 1107, in 1993 Senate Journal, at 1177. The House Judiciary Committee determined that
it would take 5 to 6 Circuit Courts handling nothing but DUI jury trials to clear the backlog and keep up with new cases. . . . At the same time, the District Court in the First Circuit is capable of disposing of non-jury DUI cases at the rate of 14 to 16 per day, per courtroom, for[, among other] reasons, that there are many changes of plea when it is apparent that trial is ready to begin[.]
Hse. Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 600, in 1993 House Journal, at 1212.
At the time of the defendants' arrests, the penalty provisions of HRS § 291-4, as amended in 1989, provided for "not less than forty-eight hours of imprisonment," with no stated maximum jail term for a first offense. Additionally, a first-time DUI offender could be sentenced to (a) a fourteen hour minimum alcohol abuse rehabilitation program, (b) a maximum ninety-day suspension of license, (c) seventy-two hours of community service, and (d) a fine of not less than $150 but not more than $1,000. See Act 128, 1989 Haw. Sess. Laws 248.
For a second offense, committed within five years of a prior conviction, a defendant could be sentenced to "not less than forty-eight consecutive hours of imprisonment" again, with no stated maximum jail term. In addition, a second-time offender could receive (a) a prompt suspension of license for one year, (b) eighty hours of community service, and (c) a fine of not less than $500 but no more than $1,000. Id. at 249.
For a third offense, the stated minimum jail time was ten days, with a maximum of "one hundred eighty days of imprisonment." Id. The fine provision for a third-time offender remained the same as for a second-time offender; however, the statute provided for "revocation of license for a period of not less than one year but not more than five years[.]" Id. Subsection (c) also provided that a second- and third-time offender "shall . . . be referred to a substance abuse counselor . . . for an assessment of the offender's alcohol abuse or dependence and the need for appropriate treatment." Id.
In 1990, the legislature enacted the following amendments to HRS § 291-4: (1) established a maximum thirty- and sixty-day term of imprisonment for a first- and second-offense DUI, respectively; (2) required that "at least forty-eight hours [of imprisonment for a second- and third-offense DUI] shall be served consecutively;" and (3) added the provision that the court may order the installation of an ignition interlock system in the case of first-time offenders. See Act 188, 1990 Haw. Sess. Laws 410-11. The 1990 amendments became effective on August 1, 1991.
Act 128, which became effective on May 21, 1993, (1) reduced the maximum jail sentence for a first-offense DUI charge under HRS § 291-4 from thirty days to five days, (2) repealed the ignition interlock provision for first-time offenders, and (3) provided for retroactive application of Act 128 to all
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