HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

107

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the convening of a task force to STUDY AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF eyewitness identificationS.

 

 


     WHEREAS, mistaken eyewitness identification has been shown to have contributed to the wrongful conviction in approximately seventy-five percent of the nation's exonerations; and

 

     WHEREAS, over the past thirty years, a large body of peer-reviewed, scientific research and practice have emerged showing that simple systemic changes in administering eyewitness identification procedures can greatly improve the accuracy of those identifications; and

 

     WHEREAS, policies and procedures to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications, such as those recommended by the U.S. National Institute of Justice, the American Bar Association, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the Wisconsin Office of the Attorney General, the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the North Carolina Actual Innocence Commission, are readily available; and

 

     WHEREAS, more accurate eyewitness identifications increase the ability of police and prosecutors to convict the guilty and protect the innocent; and

 

     WHEREAS, the integrity of Hawaii's criminal justice process is enhanced by adherence to best practices in evidence gathering; and

 

     WHEREAS, uniformity in practice and protocols among all counties is important for consistency of justice; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii will benefit from the improvement of the accuracy of eyewitness identifications; and

 

     WHEREAS, best practices in cases where there are multiple eyewitnesses include each eyewitness viewing photograph or live lineups separately or sequentially; the suspect being placed in a different position in the live lineup and/or photograph lineup for each eyewitness; the eyewitnesses not being permitted to communicate with each other until all identification procedures have been completed; and the filing of confidence statements by each eyewitness; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that in order to prevent the injustice of a wrongful conviction caused by mistaken eyewitness identification; to improve lineup procedures during criminal investigations; and to further improve the enforcement of justice within Hawaii, this body requests the formation of a task force to identify and recommend policies and procedures to the Legislature to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force comprise the following individuals or their designees:

 

     (1)  Attorney General;

 

     (2)  Public Defender;

 

     (3)  All four county Chiefs of Police;

 

     (4)  All four county prosecutors;

 

     (5)  Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;

 

     (6)  A representative of the Hawaii Innocence Project;

 

     (7)  Two representatives with expertise in the relevant social sciences as demonstrated by teaching, publication, and other scholarly applications, to be appointed by the Senate President and one to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

 

     (8)  Executive Director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014; and

 

     BUT IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force cease to exist on June 30, 2014; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General; Office of the Public Defender; Police Chiefs of the City and County of Honolulu, County of Hawaii, County of Kauai, and County of Maui; Prosecutors of the City and County of Honolulu, County of Hawaii, County of Kauai, and County of Maui; Mayors of the City and County of Honolulu, County of Hawaii, County of Kauai, and County of Maui; Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Hawaii Innocence Project; Executive Director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission; Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee; and Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Eyewitness Identification; Wrongful Convictions; Task Force