Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-14 – Hearings and evidence
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-14
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Child: means an unmarried person who is under eighteen years of age and includes a stepchild or an adopted child. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-2
- Commission: means the crime victim compensation commission established by this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-2
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Victim: means :
(1) A person who is injured or killed by any act or omission of any other person coming within the criminal jurisdiction of the State;
(2) Any resident of the State who is injured or killed in another state by an act or omission of another person, which act or omission is within the description of any of the crimes specified in § 351-32; or
(3) A person who is a resident of this State who is injured or killed by an act of terrorism occurring outside the United States, as defined in title 18 United States Code § 2331. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-2
For those applications that will be heard by the commission, the applicant and the commission’s legal adviser shall be entitled to appear and be heard. Any other person may appear and be heard who satisfies the commission that the person has a substantial interest in the proceedings. In any case in which the person entitled to make an application is a child, the application may be made on the child’s behalf by any person acting as the child’s parent or guardian. In any case in which the person entitled to make an application is mentally defective, the application may be made on the person’s behalf by the person’s guardian or any other individual authorized to administer the person’s estate.
Where, under this chapter, any person is entitled to appear and be heard by the commission, that person may appear in person or be represented by the person’s attorney. All hearings shall be open to the public, unless in a particular case, the commission determines that the hearing, or a portion thereof, should be held in private, because the offender has not been convicted or in the interest of the victim of an alleged sexual offense.
Every person appearing under this section shall have the right to produce evidence and to cross-examine witnesses. The commission may receive in evidence any statement, document, information, or matter that, in the opinion of the commission, may contribute to its functions under this chapter, whether or not the statement, document, information, or matter would be admissible in a court of law.
If any person has been convicted of any offense with respect to an act or omission on which a claim under this chapter is based, proof of that conviction, unless an appeal against the conviction or a petition for a rehearing in respect of the charge is pending or a new trial or rehearing has been ordered, shall be taken as conclusive evidence that the offense has been committed.