Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-35 – Recovery from offender
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-35
- Commission: means the crime victim compensation commission established by this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-2
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Crime: means those under § 351-32, and shall include an act of terrorism occurring outside the United States as defined in title 18 United States Code § 2331, against a resident of this State. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-2
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Injury: means actual bodily harm and, in respect of a victim, includes pregnancy and mental or nervous shock; and "injured" has a corresponding meaning. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 351-2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
- 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
Whenever any person is convicted of an offense that includes any crime enumerated in § 351-32 and an order or the payment of compensation is or has been made under this part for injury or death resulting from the act or omission constituting such offense, the commission may institute a derivative action against the person and against any person liable at law on the person’s behalf, in the name of the victim or such of the victim’s dependents as have been awarded compensation under this part in the circuit court of the circuit in which any such person resides or is found, for such damages as may be recoverable at common law by the victim or such dependents without reference to the payment of compensation under this part. The court shall have jurisdiction to hear, determine, and render judgment in any such action. The time from the occurrence of the act or omission until conviction of the offense and, thereafter, as long as the offender is in confinement for conviction of the offense, shall not constitute any part of the time limited for the commencement of the action by the commission under the applicable statute of limitations. Any recovery in the action shall belong to the State, provided that the commission shall amend its order of compensation to provide for the payment of any portion of the recovery in excess of the amount of compensation prescribed in the order to any of the persons entitled to receive compensation under § 351-31 in such proportions and upon such terms as the commission shall deem appropriate. If the legislature fails to appropriate funds to pay all or any part of the award of payment made by the commission and there is a recovery of the money from the offender, the commission shall pay all of such recovery to the claimant or such portion thereof, to the claimant as to the commission appears just and equitable, but in no case shall any claimant be given an award in excess of both the recovery and the award.