§710-1076  Tampering with physical evidence. (1)  A person commits the offense of tampering with physical evidence if,believing that an official proceeding is pending or about to be instituted, theperson:

(a) Destroys, mutilates, conceals, removes, or altersphysical evidence with intent to impair its verity in the pending orprospective official proceeding;

(b) Makes, presents, or offers any false physicalevidence with intent that it be introduced in the pending or prospectiveofficial proceeding.

(2)  "Physical evidence," as used inthis section includes any article, object, document, record, or other thing ofphysical substance.

(3)  Tampering with physical evidence is amisdemeanor. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; gen ch 1993]

 

COMMENTARY ON §710-1076

 

  Official proceedings rely on the integrity of physicalevidence, in addition to the integrity of witnesses and jurors, to achieveequitable results.  To allow the impairment or falsification of physicalevidence would undermine greatly the fairness and impartiality of the judicialprocess.

  This section makes it an offense both to conceal trueevidence and to offer false evidence, since to do either would obviouslymisrepresent the truth which it is the object of the proceeding to determine. In both cases, the actor must have an intent that the concealment orfalsification should have an effect in the proceeding.  "Physicalevidence" is defined principally to distinguish it from that evidencewhich is offered as testimony by witnesses.

  Previous Hawaii law dealt with the offense of tampering withphysical evidence under the general heading of supressing evidence.[1]  Theprior law provided that any person who "destroys, conceals, or suppressesany deposition or other legal evidence in any suit or proceeding..."[2]would be subject to a misdemeanor penalty.  It had been held that the offenseof suppressing evidence is not limited to judicial proceedings.[3]  The Codeextends the law by specifically covering presentation or fabrication of falsephysical evidence and any form of tampering when it is believed an officialproceeding is about to be instituted.

 

SUPPLEMENTAL COMMENTARY ON §710-1076

 

  The Code as adopted differs from the Proposed Draft in thatin subsection (1)(a) the words "or availability" were deleted afterthe word "verity."

 

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§710-1076 Commentary:

 

1.  H.R.S. §725-4.

 

2.  Id.

 

3.  Territory v. Achuck, 31 Haw. 474 (1930).