HB1325 Summary

• Adds new post-conviction review provisions to Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 641 allowing imprisoned persons to petition for habeas corpus relief based on false evidence, discredited expert opinions, new evidence, or significant disputes in expert testimony.

• Permits petitions when false evidence substantially material to guilt or punishment was introduced at trial, or when expert opinions have been repudiated by the original expert or undermined by scientific advances.

• Allows petitions when new evidence discovered after trial could not have been found with due diligence and is likely to have changed the trial outcome, or when credible expert testimony shows a significant dispute has emerged regarding trial testimony reliability.

• Requires courts to give great weight to evidence that scientific or forensic community consensus has developed against the reliability of expert testimony or that lack of consensus exists regarding such testimony.

• Directs the Hawaii Supreme Court to establish rules governing petition procedures, hearings, disposition, and indigent representation, while preserving all existing habeas corpus procedures and remedies.