State v. Hussein.

Opinion of the Court by

ACOBA, J.

We hold that (1) imposing a prison sentence consecutively to “any sentence” of a prior conviction pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 706-606.5(5) (Supp.2006),1 *498including the lesser of such sentences, is a novel, but accurate, view of the statute; (2) henceforth, the circuit court must state its reasons for imposing a consecutive as opposed to a concurrent sentence under HRS § 706-668.5 (Supp.2008)2 or HRS § 706-606.5; (3) the requirement that reasons be given in imposing consecutive sentences is closely connected to a probable Hawaii Rules of Penal…