[ CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS ]
Hawaii voters ratified a constitutional amendment yesterday that would give prosecutors a third method of bringing felony charges. State voters ratify all 3
proposed amendmentsBy Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comThey also approved amendments that would require state House and Senate candidates to live in the districts in which they wish to run before they file their nomination papers for the primary election, and allow private schools to tap into special-purpose revenue bonds issued by the state for school renovations.
Constitutional Amendment No. 3, which approved a process called "information charging," garnered 220,829 yes votes, or 57.3 percent, despite strong opposition by the American Civil Liberties Union, criminal defense lawyers and the Japanese American Citizens League, which argued it would erode the defendant's rights of due process. Nearly 32 percent, or 123,003 voted against it.
Prosecutors and county and state law enforcement officials who supported the amendment said it would be more friendly to victims, witnesses and police officers who have to testify, and would streamline the judicial process while preserving the defendant's rights of due process.
Still, 41,494 of the voters left the question blank, which counted as "no" votes. Critics of the proposal had said that because of erroneous or insufficient information, voters were being forced to vote on a proposal whose details had not been worked out yet by the Legislature.
ACLU Director Brent White had unsuccessfully argued in state court last week to prevent the votes from being counted and certified because the state elections office had failed to follow constitutional requirements for public notice of the proposed amendments. Hee said the ACLU intends to contest all three amendments.
Under information charging, prosecutors will file written information according to procedures and conditions yet to be passed by the Legislature. Currently, grand jurors or judges decide probable cause after hearing testimony by witnesses.
