Opinion ID: 2517375
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Motion for Sentencing as a First-Time Drug Offender in the Drug Buy Case

Text: On April 30, 2004, Akau filed a motion for sentencing as a first-time drug offender, pursuant to HRS § 706-622.5. HRS § 706-622.5 (Supp.2003) sets forth a sentencing scheme that directs the sentencing court, in certain circumstances, to sentence first-time drug offenders to probation and drug treatment rather than imprisonment. At the May 20, 2004 hearing on the motion, Akau essentially argued that it was unfair to sentence him as a first-time drug offender in the search warrant case when the offenses in that action occurred subsequent in time to the offenses for which he was indicted in the drug buy case. He claimed that he did not receive the benefits of the first-time drug offender statute because the search warrant case and the drug buy case were brought separately, as opposed to all offenses being joined in a single prosecution. The prosecution admitted that the situation [did] look unfair to the defendant, but argued that Akau would not have been eligible for sentencing as a first-time drug offender for the drug buy case even if those charges had been joined with those in the search warrant case because HRS § 706-622.5, [8] by its express terms, is limited only to possession offenses, not distribution offenses. The circuit court denied Akau's motion for sentencing as a first-time offender on June 18, 2004. The circuit court agreed with the prosecution and concluded, inter alia, that HRS [§ ]706-622.5 does not apply in drug distribution cases.