A young lady wrote and asked about what the difference was between felonies and misdemeanors. The simple way to remember it is that felonies are the more serious or dangerous offenses. Some of them include kidnapping, murder or manslaughter. Felonies
A young lady wrote and asked about what the difference was between felonies and misdemeanors.
The simple way to remember it is that felonies are the more serious or dangerous offenses.
Some of them include kidnapping, murder or manslaughter. Felonies can be class A, B or C, with A being the most serious and C being the least serious.
There are some offenses that can be felonies or misdemeanors depending upon the degree or amount of harm caused.
Assault in the third degree is a misdemeanor. It causes pain or bodily injury to a person, but doesn’t impair the individual.
Assault in the first or second degree is when a person intentionally or knowingly causes serious bodily injury to another person, such as broken bones, or loss of hearing or vision.
It is also a felony to cause any pain or bodily harm to teachers, or anyone employed by the Department of Education in a teaching capacity, or to law enforcement officers.
I want to emphasize that if you hit a person, even in play, and it causes pain, that person could have you detained for assault in the third degree.
Theft in the third or fourth degree is a misdemeanor.
Total property or services stolen is less than $300. It is a felony if the value is over $300.
Criminal property damage in the first and second degree occur when the damage exceeds $1,500.
It is a misdemeanor in the third and fourth degrees.
There is another set of offenses called status offenses: curfew, runaway and truancy.
Curfew is 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and midnight to 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday, unless the youth is accompanied by a responsible adult as determined by the Kaua‘i Police Department.
One commits the offense of runaway whenever a person under 17 leaves the home without permission or stays out without permission.
One commits the offense of truancy when a student interferes with his/her education by not attending educational classes. That means not being in school.
There are many more offenses than just these listed, but you get the idea. Basically, if you follow the Golden Rule, you’ll be all right.
Treat others as you want to be treated. Don’t hurt them, swear at them, threaten them or damage their property or public property.
Respect peoples’ possessions, homes and land. Don’t take what doesn’t belong to you. Don’t drink until you are 21 and don’t use drugs.
Never drive under the influence.
Gambling is illegal at any age. The laws are made by the people for the people to keep them safe and give them the best opportunities to live a good life.
“In Your Corner” is a phrase that means support. Its origin comes from boxing.
In between rounds, the boxer retires to his corner, and a group of people coach him, give him medical help, water, and cheer him on.
Several adults have “stepped into the corner” for our teens, to answer questions and give support in the boxing ring of life.
They are Catherine Stovall, community response specialist, County of Kaua’i; Edmund Acoba, public defender; Craig DeCosta, county prosecuting attorney; Officer Paul Applegate, Kaua‘i Police Department; Daniel Hamada, superintendent of schools; Jill Yoshimatsu, director of the DOE Mokihana program; and Annaleah Atkinson, teen court manager for Hale ‘Opio Kaua‘i.
If you have something to share with Kaua‘i teens, or need to ask a question, e-mail Annaleah at aatkinson@haleopio.org, or snail mail her at Hale ‘Opio Kauai Inc., 2959 Umi St., Lihu‘e, HI 96766. She will field it to the person who can best help with the answer.
