Case Notes

• Publication year: 2014
• Citation: Vol. 18 No. 01

CASE NOTES

Supreme Court

Criminal

State v. Getz, No. SCWC-12-0000009, November 8, 2013, (Pollack, J.). Appellant was convicted of second degree robbery. During his trial, the circuit court withdrew its standard unanimity instruction. The Hawaii Supreme Court found that this failure constituted plain error.

State v. Maharaj, No. SGWG-29520, November 19, 2013, (Acoba, J. with Recktenwald, C.J. and Nakayama, J., dissenting). Defendant was charged with Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of an Intoxicant. The Hawaii Supreme Court held that the charge was insufficient because the State failed to allege the requisite states of mind of intentional, knowing, or reckless in the charge and because the charge failed to allege an essential fact constituting the offense charged pursuant to State v. Apollonio, --- P.3d ---, 2013 WL 5574921, at *5.

Recktenwald, C.J. and Nakayama, J., dissented on the grounds that the defendant neither alleged nor demonstrated how he was prejudiced by the deficient charge.

State v. Flores, No. SCWG-12-0000359, November 29, 2013, (Acoba, J.). Appellant was charged with kidnapping. The Hawaii Supreme Court held that the circuit court should have given a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of Unlawful Imprisonment in the First Degree; and that the court's failure to give the instruction on the lesser-included offense was not harmless, overruling State v. Haanio, 94 Hawaii 405, 16 P.3d 246 (2001), only to the extent that Haanio would hold such error to be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

Appeal Pointers

An opening brief may be stricken and the appeal may be dismissed or sanctions may be levied against an appellant if the opening brief does not contain a statement of points of error in the form required by HRAP 28(b)(4). HRAP 30.

Real Property

U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n, as Trustee, on Behalf of the Holders of the Asset Backed Sec. Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust, Series NC 2005-HE8, Asset Backed Pass-Through Certificates, Series NC 2005-HE8 a Castro, No. CAAP-11-0001105, November 8, 2013, (Pollack, J.). This appeal arose out of an ejectment action in which the district court entered a judgment for possession. The ICA indicated that the district court did not have jurisdiction over this case; however, the Hawaii Supreme Court held that the district court...