The six divisions are: (1) Career Criminal Division; (2) Domestic Violence/Juvenile Offenders/Elder Abuse Justice Division; (3) Trials Division; (4) Screening and Intake Division; (5) Appellate Division; and (6) Misdemeanor and Traffic Division.  The Elder Abuse Justice Unit has just been added to the Department this past year. 

In addition, the Department is involved with legislation, community prosecution and specialty courts such as Drug Court. 

1.  CAREER CRIMINAL DIVISION

The Career Criminal (“CCD”) consists of one division Chief and 11 attorneys.  Two paralegals, six clerical staff and five victim advocates shared with the felony Trials Division assist them.

CCD is a highly skilled prosecutorial litigation unit that vertically prosecutes those offenders who are identified as repeat offenders, or career criminals by Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 845-3, as well as all cases involving convicted felons in possession of or using firearms.  CCD also shares responsibility with two other felony divisions in prosecuting sexual offenders. 

All offenses committed by an individual defendant are assigned to the same CCD prosecutor from the moment the case enters the office.  Any future cases committed by the defendant are, as often as possible, also assigned to the same CCD prosecutor.  Through this vertical approach, the CCD prosecutor becomes knowledgeable about the defendant, including his potential for dangerousness or his potential for rehabilitation.  Handling the case from its inception fosters a special working relationship between the police, witnesses, victims and the prosecutor.  This approach permits continuity in prosecution and helps to ease the anxiety on the part of witnesses and victims. 

Section 845 cases consist primarily of drug and property crimes, such as burglary, theft, forgeries, vehicle thefts and auto break-ins.  These cases are almost exclusively motivated by a desire to obtain property to trade for money to buy drugs.  The most common drug bought is crystal methamphetamine, or “ice”.  Ice is also a factor in the majority of the remaining crimes handled by this unit, the violent crimes such as murder, robbery, home invasions, assaults and firearms offenses. 

From July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, CCD prosecutors handled 403 felony cases through disposition.  Of those 360 defendants were convicted by plea and of the 43 cases that went to trial, 31 defendants were convicted.  This is a 72% trial conviction rate and a 97% over all conviction rate for the division.  Because of their prior convictions, most career criminal defendants are sentenced to prison upon conviction. 

2.  DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/JUVENILE OFFENDER/ELDER ABUSE JUSTICE DIVISION

The Domestic Violence/Juvenile Offender/Elder Abuse Justice Division consists of 19 attorneys, three paralegal assistants, six victim/witness counselors and nine support staff organized into four teams.  Each team is highly specialized in the prosecution of domestic violence, juvenile crimes or elder abuse and is supervised by an experienced felony attorney.  The four teams are discussed below. 

The Domestic Violence Felony Team consists of four attorneys who are supervised by an experienced domestic violence felony prosecutor.  This team is primarily responsible for prosecuting all felony domestic violence cases along with some sexual assault cases.  This team focuses on the more serious violent offenses stemming from intimate relationships (husband-wife, boyfriend-girlfriend and same sex couples) and parent-child relationships.

In addition, this team also shares responsibility for prosecuting felony sexual assault cases with two other divisions within the office.  While the majority of these cases involve child and adult victims victimized by perpetrators known to them, i.e., natural father, step-father, uncle, brother, boyfriend, neighbor, family friend, and other generally trusted acquaintances, this team also handles cases involving strangers, chronic child molesters and serial rapists.

The Domestic Violence Felony Team employs vertical prosecution to better deal with the dynamics of these cases.  Through vertical prosecution, the assigned prosecutor works with the victims, witnesses, and police investigators from the inception of the case, up through preliminary hearings, grand jury, pre-trial motions, trial, and sentencing.  In order to accomplish this, a prosecutor is on-call 24 hours a day to assist police with various aspects of the investigation and to then review the case and make appropriate charging decisions.  This approach maintains continuity and enables this team to better handle the many challenges presented by these cases which typically involve uncooperative victims who recant or minimize their prior statements at court due to fear of and/or affection for the perpetrator.  This same approach also allows our

attorneys and staff to better respond to the needs of often emotionally fragile and distraught victims of both domestic violence and sexual assault. 

The Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Team consists of seven attorneys who are supervised by an experienced domestic violence felony prosecutor.  This team handles all misdemeanor family or household member abuse cases under Section 709-906, HRS, along with all Family Court restraining order violations under Chapter 586, HRS.  As such, this team is a high-volume unit, which focuses on violence stemming from intimate relationships (husband-wife, boyfriend-girlfriend and same sex couples) and parent-child relationships. 

This team also employs vertical prosecution to the extent that they review, charge, and try their own cases.  As part of this effort, each day a prosecutor responds to the police department receiving desk at about 3:00 a.m. and/or weekends to review/charge those cases involving misdemeanor defendants in custody.  This helps ensure more consistency and better handling of these cases, which are made difficult, as the majority of victims are reluctant and/or uncooperative.  In addition, as many of these offenders and victims are the same individuals handled at the felony level, it is helpful to have good communication between misdemeanor and felony prosecutors so that significant developments and information can be beneficially shared.

The Juvenile Offender Team consists of six attorneys supervised by an experienced Family Court Prosecutor.  This team is responsible for the prosecution of all juvenile offenders (persons under 18 years of age at the time an offense is committed).  Their cases range from traffic/misdemeanor offenses to all types of felony offenses, including sexual assaults and homicides.  The offenders range from first-time offenders who commit less serious crimes to the hard-core dangerous and repeat offenders who may be waived to adult court for more serious crimes.

This team also employs a modified form of vertical prosecution to the extent that they review, charge, and try the majority of their own cases.  They do receive, however, some assistance at the initial conferral stage from the Screening and Intake Division.   

The Elder Abuse Justice Team created this year consists of one full-time felony prosecutor at the present time with plans to incrementally increase staffing to meet expanding responsibilities in the future.  This team is responsible for prosecuting all felony cases involving victims who are sixty years of age or older, and concentrates on the more serious and violent offenses committed against the elderly.  While many of these cases involve situations where the elderly are victimized by perpetrators known to them, i.e., family, friends and other generally trusted acquaintances, this team also handles other crimes committed against this vulnerable class of victims by others. 

The Elder Abuse Justice Team also employs vertical prosecution to better identify and respond to the unique challenges of these cases.  Through vertical prosecution, a prosecutor works directly with the victims, witnesses, and police investigators from the inception of the case, up through preliminary hearings, grand jury proceedings, pre-trial motions, trial, and sentencing.  In order to accomplish this, a prosecutor is on-call 24 hours every day to assist police with various aspects of the investigation and to review the case and make appropriate charging decisions.  This approach maintains continuity and enables the prosecutor to better prosecute these cases which may involve disabled or reluctant victims.  It also allows our attorneys and staff to more effectively respond to this victim population with greater sensitivity. 

3.  TRIALS DIVISION

The Trials Division consists of 29 trial attorneys, one division Chief, and five team captains (supervisors) of the five trial teams with 23 trial attorneys divided into those respective teams.  Three paralegal assistants and 13 clerical staff support the division.

This is the largest division in the office and it handles most of the felony cases in the Department.  These cases include murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide, sex assaults, robbery, burglary, arson, assaults, white collar crime, identity theft, campaign fraud, computer crimes, drugs, and property crime.  In addition to the felony cases, the Trials Division handles most of the Misdemeanor Jury Trials.  Furthermore, all matters regarding the extradition of defendants to and from other states are handled by the Trials Division.  Many high profile cases are handled by deputies from this division. 

From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, the division completed about 2,000 cases.

4.  SCREENING AND INTAKE DIVISION

The Screening and Intake Division (“SID”) consists of one division Chief, 13 screening deputies, seven support staff, and two paralegal assistants.

SID screens most felony cases (except for domestic violence and white collar cases which are handled by different divisions) brought to this Department by the Honolulu Police Department and other State investigative agencies.  SID’s primary role is to review felony cases and decide which ones to accept for prosecution, which ones to decline, and which ones need follow-up work.  SID also reviews search warrants, handles preliminary hearings in District Court, prepares and presents cases to the Oahu Grand Jury, and prepares cases for information charging.  In order to accomplish this, four prosecutors are dedicated to review search warrants and criminal felony cases brought in by the various law enforcement agencies five days a week during work hours.  Two more prosecutors are on-call after hours and all day on weekends and holidays to assist police with various aspects of the investigation and, once completed, to review the case and make appropriate charging decisions.  The remaining seven prosecutors review, assess, and prepare felony cases brought to SID, and also cover preliminary hearings, grand jury, and the information charging process. 

SID reviews and assesses a variety of felony offenses including but not limited to homicide, robbery, assault, terroristic threatening, negligent homicide, identity theft, shoplifting, auto theft, and burglary. 

For the period beginning July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2008, SID processed 177 Grand Jury cases, 201 preliminary hearings, and filed 987 Information Charging cases. 

5.  APPELLATE DIVISION

The Appellate Division consists of one Chief and six attorneys, all of whom are assisted by a paralegal and two support staff. 

The appellate attorneys represent the State of Hawai`i in all appeals from juvenile, criminal and traffic cases prosecuted by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.  In addition to matters filed in the Hawai`i appellate courts, attorneys in this division also respond to motions and original proceedings such as petitions for habeas corpus and writs of prohibition or mandamus. These responses and petitions are often extensive and cannot be predicted.  

Appellate attorneys also represent the State of Hawai`i in federal habeas corpus proceedings in which the prisoner-petitioner contests the state court judgment.  This division has seen a significant increase in federal litigation over the last year and utilizes electronic filing in federal court.  Federal habeas cases at times require hearings and additional proceedings before the federal district court.  When these cases progress to the federal appellate level, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sets them for oral argument, either here in Honolulu or in San Francisco.  The Appellate Division also files responses to Petitions for Writ of Certiorari filed by state defendants. 

In addition, attorneys in the Appellate Division are called upon to provide research and reference assistance to both the administration and the other divisions within the Department. 

In fiscal year 2007-2008, the Appellate attorneys filed 110 briefs in the State appellate courts, eight Federal pleadings, and 131 other substantive pleadings.  During this period, 13 cases were argued by the Appellate Attorneys at the State Appellate Courts.  Attorneys in the division won 82% of their cases in the State appellate courts during this period.

6.  MISDEMEANOR AND TRAFFIC DIVISION