Hawai'i Legal News

  Suitt v. State (HSC November 22, 2022) Background. Bryan Suitt pleaded no contest to murder in the second degree and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The Hawai'i Paroling Authority set his minimum term at 45 years. He did not appeal the conviction. He filed a petition to set aside the conviction pursuant to Hawai'i Rules of Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule 40 and updated it three times for a total of 45 claims, including a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel and due process violations at the HPA minimum term hearing.   The circuit court, with the Hon. Judge Karen T. Nakasone presiding, found most of the claims patently frivolous and dismissed them without a hearing. It did set an evidentiary hearing on the claims relating to the HPA and appointed counsel.   On April 13, 2020, the circuit court amended its order to address more claims added by Suitt. It denied the new claims and in a footnote stated that if the HPA held a new minimum

  Deangelo v. Souza (HSC November 17, 2022) Background. Scott Deangelo arrested without a warrant for second-degree murder. The district court made a judicial determination of probable cause the next day. The prosecution filed a complaint alleging murder and held a preliminary hearing. At the hearing, the district court found probable cause based on the evidence presented and committed the case to the circuit court. The prosecution did not present evidence before a grand jury and no true bill of indictment issued.   Instead, the prosecution filed a complaint in the circuit court. Deangelo pleaded not guilty and filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that because he was not indicted, the prosecution violated HRS § 801-1. While that motion was pending, the HSC issued its decision in State v. Obrero , 151 Hawai'i 472, 517 P.3d 755 (2022). The prosecution conceded the violation and requested that Deangelo remain in custody without bail so it could indict him. The circuit court

  State v. Hirata (HSC October 31, 2022) Background. Chanse Hirata was charged with continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14. HRS § 707-733.6. At trial, the prosecutor, Honolulu DPA Kristen Yamamoto, told the jury in her opening statement that there was no DNA evidence, no surveillance videos, and no eyewitnesses “But you will hear from the one person that lived through all of this[,]” the complaining witness.   The complaining witness, her parents, two police officers, a doctor who examined the complaining witness, and an expert in the “dynamics of child sexual abuse” testified for the prosecution. The defense called Hirata, his parents, and his girlfriend.   The trial court, with the Hon. Judge Catherine Remigio presiding, instructed the jury on credibility with Hawai'i Standard Jury Instructions Criminal (HAWJIC) 3.09:   It is your exclusive right to determine and to what extent a witness should be believed and to give weight to his or her testimon