§663-2 Defense of lawful detention. [(a)] In any action for false arrest, false imprisonment, unlawful detention, defamation of character, assault, trespass, or invasion of civil rights, brought by any person by reason of having been detained on or in the immediate vicinity of the premises of a retail mercantile establishment for the purpose of investigation or questioning as to the ownership of any merchandise, or a motion picture theater for the purpose of investigation or questioning as to an unauthorized audiovisual recording of a motion picture, it shall be a defense to the action that the person was detained in a reasonable manner and for not more than a reasonable time to permit such investigation or questioning by a police officer or by the owner of the retail mercantile establishment or motion picture theater, the owner's authorized employee, or agent, and that such police officer, owner, employee, or agent had reasonable grounds to believe that the person so detained was committing or attempting to commit larceny of merchandise or unauthorized audiovisual recording of a motion picture on the premises.
[(b)] As used in this section:
"Motion picture theater" means a movie theater, screening room, or other venue in use primarily for the exhibition of a motion picture at the time of the unauthorized audiovisual recording of a motion picture.
"Reasonable grounds" includes, but is not limited to, knowledge that a person has concealed possession of unpurchased merchandise of the retail mercantile establishment or has made an unauthorized audiovisual recording of a motion picture taken at a motion picture theater.
"Reasonable time" means the time necessary to permit the person detained to make a statement or to refuse to make a statement, and the time necessary to examine employees and records of the mercantile establishment or motion picture theater relative to the ownership of the merchandise or making of an unauthorized audiovisual recording of a motion picture.
"Retail mercantile establishment" means a place where goods, wares, or merchandise are offered to the public for sale.
[(c)] This section applies to legal actions resulting from detentions occurring after May 21, 1967, for retail merchant establishments, and after May 18, 2005, for motion picture theaters. [L 1967, c 107, §1; HRS §663-2; am L 1972, c 144, §2(b); gen ch 1985; am L 2005, c 59, §2]
Revision Note
"May 18, 2005" substituted for "the effective date of this Act".
Cross References
As affirmative defense to unlawful imprisonment, see §707-722 and commentary.
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.