State v. Auwae

Opinion of the Court by

ACOBA, J.

We hold that under the Hawaii Penal Code (HPC), possession is an act which may be prosecuted if (1) the defendant knowingly procured or received the thing possessed, or (2) the defendant was aware of defendant’s control of it for a sufficient period to have been able to terminate defendant’s possession. Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 702-202 (1993). Accordingly, the term “possess” under HRS § 134-7(b) (Supp.1997) means to (1) knowingly procure or receive the firearm or ammunition, or (2) be aware of one’s own control over a firearm or ammunition for a…