State v. Emch

Summary

The Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi vacated Bob Emch’s extended-term sentence because the sentencing scheme then in effect violated his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial under Apprendi and related precedent. The court remanded for resentencing consistent with State v. Jess, including the possibility of resentencing under a judicially reformed or legislatively amended extended-term sentencing scheme.

Holdings

1. An extended-term sentence imposed under the applicable version of Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 706-662(1) is illegal because the sentencing court made the additional finding that extended imprisonment was necessary for the protection of the public, thereby violating the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial under State v. Maugaotega II.
2. On remand, and upon appropriate motion, the circuit court may resentence Emch to an extended term by exercising its inherent authority to judicially reform the applicable statute or by using the provisions of the legislatively amended sentencing scheme identified in State v. Jess.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Emch's extended-term sentence imposed under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 706-662(1) was unconstitutional and illegal because the sentencing court, rather than a jury, made the finding that an extended term was necessary for the protection of the public.
2. Whether the case should be remanded for resentencing and whether the circuit court could impose an extended term under a judicially reformed statute or the subsequently amended statutory scheme.

Disposition

vacated