The state's new extended sentencing law, enacted in a rush late last year to cure defects in the old sentencing law, has passed its first test in the appellate courts.

The Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the new law can be applied retroactively to a criminal who had been sentenced to extra prison time under the provisions of the old law.

The defendant, Walter Cutsinger, was sentenced to an extended 10-year prison term for burglary in 2006 after the city prosecuting attorney's office labeled him a "persistent offender," arguing that a harsher prison term was necessary in Cutsinger's case because he represented a danger to the public.

Prosecutors noted that Cutsinger's criminal history spanned 20 years and that he had a record of 35 convictions, most of them for burglary offenses.

Cutsinger appealed the sentence.

In the meantime, the Hawai'i Supreme Court struck down the local extended sentencing law and during a special session of the Legislature last year, a new measure was enacted Oct. 31.

Attorney General Mark Bennett's office argued the appeal in Cutsinger's case, urging the court to rule quickly because of other appeals filed and anticipated to be filed by criminals sentenced under the old statute.

"Appellant precedent is absolutely critical to provide guidance to the sentencing courts," Bennett's office argued.

The appellate decision, written by Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Craig Nakamura, tossed out Cutsinger's 2006 sentence, but said that the new law may be applied retroactively when he is resentenced.

"The retroactive application of Act I (the new law) to Cutsinger's resentencing does not violate the Ex Post Facto (after-the-fact) Clause" of the U.S. Constitution," the opinion said.