Case Notes

• Citation: Vol. 28 No. 10
• Year: 2024

CASE NOTES

[Page 27]

Supreme Court

Constitutional

Dicks v. State, No. SCEC-24-0000474, July 25, 2024, (Per Curiam). In this election contest, filed before the election results were even posted, a non-partisan candidate alleged that the primary election ballots suffered from constitutional and statutory infirmities. The Hawaii Supreme Court disagreed and dismissed all election contest claims for failure to state a claim. The Hawaii Supreme Court also liberally construed the complaint as seeking a petition for a writ of mandamus directed to a public officer and denied the petition.

Criminal

State v. Yuen, No. SCWC-21-0000679, August 20, 2024, (McKenna, J. with Rectenwald, C.J. and Ginoza, J., dissenting). This case arose out of a motor vehicle collision ("MVC") that occurred in the City & County of Honolulu ("City"), 50 feet from the entrance to the O'Malley Gate of Hickam Air Force Base ("HAFB"). As he approached the gate, defendant Charles Yuen ("Yuen") allegedly rear-ended and caused significant bumper damage to another car. Yuen's car apparently had no visible damage. Military police or personnel ("MPs") apparently came to the scene just outside the military base and identified Yuen as the responsible driver. They apparently then seized Yuen and subjected him to a preliminary screening to see if he was intoxicated, including standard field sobriety tests ("SFSTs") and/or a preliminary alcohol screening ("PAS"). It appears they then called the Honolulu Police Department ("HPD") to report a MVC and a "DUI at the gate" and detained Yuen until HPD arrived. At some point, HPD officers responded and the MPs identified Yuen as the driver to HPD. HPD then administered their own SFSTs and PAS. Thereafter, Yuen was arrested and charged with OVUII in violation of HRS § 291E-61(a)(1). As trial was starting, Yuen's trial counsel sought to exclude evidence from the MPs based on the Posse Comitatus Act ("PCA"), 18 U.S.C. § 1385. The PCA generally prohibits use of the military to conduct civilian law enforcement activities. In State v. Pattioay, 78 Hawai'i 455, 896 P.2d 911 (1995), the Hawaii Supreme Court held that evidence obtained in violation of the PCA must be suppressed. 78 Hawai'i at 468-69, 896 P.2d at 924-25. In addition, the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine requires exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of an illegal seizure or search. State v. Weldon, 144 Hawai'i 522, 534, 445 P.3d 103, 115 (2019) (illegal seizure); State v. Knight, 63 Haw. 90, 93, 621 P.2d 370, 374 (1980) (per curiam) (illegal search); see also, State v. Won, 137 Hawai'i 330, 338, 372 P.3d 1065, 1073 (2015) (holding that a breath test is a search subject to the constitutional constraints of Article I, Section 7 of the Hawai'i...