USE OF FORCE BY PERSONS WITH SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY

USE OF FORCE BY PERSONS WITH SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CARE, DISCIPLINE, OR SAFETY OF OTHERS – MINORS AND INCOMPETENT PERSONS: H.R.S. § 703-309(1) and (3) Justifiable use of force a person with special responsibility for care, discipline, or safety of others is a defense to the charge of (specify charge and its included offenses) when all of the following circumstances are present: (1) The Defendant was a [parent of a minor] [guardian of a minor] [person similarly responsible to a parent or guardian for the general care and supervision of a minor] [person acting at the request of the parent, guardian, or other responsible person of a minor] [guardian of an incompetent person] [other person similarly responsible to a guardian for the general care and supervision of an incompetent person]; (2) The Defendant’s use of force was employed with due regard to the age and size of the [minor] [incompetent person] and was reasonably related to the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the welfare of the [minor] [incompetent person], including [the prevention or punishment of misconduct of the minor] [the prevention of the incompetent person’s misconduct] [the maintenance of reasonable discipline in a hospital or other institution responsible for the incompetent person’s care and custody]; and (3) The force used was not designed to cause, or known to create a risk of causing, substantial bodily injury, disfigurement, extreme pain or mental distress, or neurological damage. The burden is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant’s use of force was not justified. If you unanimously find that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that any one of these three circumstances did not exist, then the Defendant’s use of force was not justified. Where force is used for the purpose of punishing misconduct, “reasonably related” means that the use of force must be both reasonably proportional to the misconduct being punished and reasonably believed necessary to protect the welfare of the [minor] [incompetent person]. Notes H.R.S. § 703-309(1) & (3). For the following definitions, see instructions: See State v. Crouser, 81 Hawai`i, 5, 12, 911 P.2d 725, 732 (1996) (defining “reasonably related” which was applied when the use of force was for the purpose of punishing misconduct). For Commentary and Supplemental Commentary on H.R.S. § 703- 310, see HAWJIC 7.01.