Opinion ID: 1188816
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Second Reserved Question

Text: If the amendments to the sentencing provisions of HRS [§] 291-4 provided in Act 128, Session Laws of Hawai`i, Regular Session of 1993, effective May 21, 1993, do eliminate the right to jury trial, whether the deprivation of such a right may be applied retrospectively to alleged offenses occurring prior to the enactment of the Act. HRS § 1-3 (1985) provides that [n]o law has any retrospective operation, unless otherwise expressed or obviously intended.  (Emphasis added.) As noted previously, section 5 of Act 128 provides that it takes effect upon approval, provided that [the reduced penalties] shall be retroactive for all pending first-offense cases for [DUI]. 1993 Haw. Sess.Laws at 181. Therefore, for purposes of HRS § 1-3, HRS § 291-4, as amended by Act 128, clearly applies retroactively to pending cases. Appellants, however, challenge the constitutionality of the retroactive application of HRS § 291-4, as amended. Appellants argue that to retroactively apply Act 128 would deprive them of a vested fundamental right to a jury trial in violation of the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution [21] and violates due process. The prosecution, on the other hand, argues that because Act 128 transforms a first-offense DUI under HRS § 291-4 into a constitutionally petty offense, the appellants' argument against retroactive application is frivolous. The prosecution essentially argues that no right has been taken away; rather, the crime is different because the penalties under the amended § 291-4 are lesser, and therefore, the corresponding right is different. The burden is on the appellants to show that Act 128 is a plain, clear, manifest, and unmistakable violation of the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution and due process. We therefore address each alleged violation in turn to determine whether appellants have met their burden.