Opinion ID: 1375362
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Statutory Scheme Prior to the '86 and '87 Amendments

Text: Prior to 1986, pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 701-107 (1985), crimes were graded as either felonies, misdemeanors, or petty misdemeanors. Felonies were further divided into class A, B, or C. HRS § 701-107 (1985) provided in relevant part: Grades and classes of offenses. (1) An offense defined by this Code or by any other statute of this State for which a sentence of imprisonment is authorized constitutes a crime. Crimes are of three grades: felonies, misdemeanors, and petty misdemeanors. Felonies are of three classes: class A, class B, and class C. (2) A crime is a felony if it is so designated in this Code or if persons convicted thereof may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term which is in excess of one year. .... (Bold emphasis in original.) Under HRS § 706-610 (1985), the classification system for felonies was used to determine appropriate sentencing as well: Classes of felonies. (1) Felonies defined by this Code are classified, for the purpose of sentence, into three classes, as follows: (a) Class A felonies; (b) Class B felonies; and (c) Class C felonies. A felony is a class A, class B, or class C felony when it is so designated by this Code. A crime declared to be a felony, without specification of class, is a class C felony. (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a felony defined by any statute of this State other than this Code shall constitute for the purpose of sentence a class C felony. (Bold emphasis in original.) Under the previous scheme, murder was a singular offense defined as a class A felony: Murder. (1) Except as provided in section 707-702, a person commits the offense of murder if he intentionally or knowingly causes the death of another person. (2) Murder is a class A felony for which the defendant shall be sentenced to imprisonment as provided in section 706-606. HRS § 707-701 (1985) (bold emphasis in original). HRS § 706-606 (1985) [3] provided that murder was punishable by an indeterminate term of life imprisonment, with or without the possibility of parole, depending upon the circumstances, whereas most class A felonies were subject to ordinary penalties pursuant to HRS § 706-659 (1985). [4] The related crime of attempted murder was also a class A felony. HRS § 705-502 (1985) provided that [a]n attempt to commit a crime is an offense of the same class and grade as the most serious offense which is attempted. Like murder, attempted murder was also exempted from ordinary class A penalties. Instead, harsher penalties akin to those for murder were also available for attempted murder because, in the case of both murder and attempted murder, the intent to kill [is] the same. See Commentary to HRS § 706-606.1 (1985) [5] . The classification of conspiracy to commit murder, however, was governed by HRS § 705-526 (1985), which provided the formula for determining the grade of a criminal conspiracy: Grading of criminal conspiracy. (1) A conspiracy to commit a class A felony is a class B felony. (2) Except as provided in subsection (1), conspiracy to commit a crime is an offense of the same class and grade as the most serious offense which is an object of the conspiracy. (Bold emphasis in original.) Accordingly, conspiracy to commit the class A felony of murder was a class B felony. Because of its extreme inchoate nature, conspiracy to commit murder was considered to be a less egregious offense than murder or attempted murder. See Commentary to HRS § 705-526 (1985). Consequently, it was punishable in accordance with HRS § 706-660 (1985), [6] which delineated the relatively lighter sentencing terms of ten years for a class B felony and five years for a class C felony. The statute of limitations governing criminal offenses was set forth in HRS § 701-108 (1985), which provided in pertinent part: Time limitations. (1) A prosecution for murder may be commenced at any time. (2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, prosecutions for other offenses are subject to the following periods of limitation: (a) A prosecution for a class A felony must be commenced within six years after it is committed; (b) A prosecution for any other felony must be commenced within three years after it is committed. .... (Bold emphasis in original.) Hence, a prosecution for: (1) murder was not subject to any limitations period, HRS § 701-108(1) (1985); (2) attempted murder, a class A felony, had to be brought within six years, HRS § 701-108(2)(a) (1985); and (3) conspiracy to commit murder, a class B felony, had to be brought within three years, HRS § 701-108(2)(b) (1985). For statute of limitations purposes, the duration of a conspiracy was defined in HRS § 705-525 (1985), which provided in pertinent part: Duration of conspiracy. For purposes of section 701-108, the following apply: (1) Conspiracy is a continuing course of conduct which terminates when the crime or crimes which are its object are committed or the agreement that they be committed is abandoned by the defendant and by those with whom he [or she] conspired. .... (Bold emphasis in original.) In summary, prior to 1986, conspiracy to commit murder was a class B felony subject to a three-year limitations period and a ten-year sentence. See State v. Reyes, 5 Haw. App. 651, 652, 706 P.2d 1326, 1327, reconsideration denied, 5 Haw.App. 683, 753 P.2d 253 (1985).