Hawai'i Legal News

State v. Nesmith (ICA June 22, 2011) OVERRULED Background. Kevin Nesmith was charged by complaint of operating a vehicle under the influence of an toxicant: On or about the 7th day of January , 2010, in the City and County of Honolulu, State of Hawaii, KEVIN K. NESMITH did operate or assume actual physical control of a vehicle upon a public way, street, road, or highway while under the influence of alcohol in an amount sufficient to impair his normal mental faculties or ability to care for himself and guard against casualty; and/or did operate or assume actual physical control of a vehicle upon a public way, street, road, or highway with .08 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath, thereby committing the offense of Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of an Intoxicant . . . . KEVIN K. NESMITH is subject to sentencing as a first offender in accordance with Section 291E-61(1)(b) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes . Nesmith moved to dismiss on the grounds...

State v. Kikuta (HSC June 8, 2011) Background. Cedric Kikuta was charged with assault in the second degree. HRS § 707-711(1). And Assault in the third degree. HRS § 707-712. At trial, his stepson, Justin, testified that when he was fourteen at the time of the incident. He was watching t.v. with his cousin, Chad, when Kikuta told him to feed the dog. He did. Then Kikuta noticed that the dog left a "stain" on the carpeted floor. Justin told him that he couldn't get the stain out. Kikuta said that if he could get it out, Justin is grounded for a year. Justin countered that if Kikuta could not, he could kick Kikuta's leg. Kikuta's leg was in a cast because he was recovering from surgery and walked around in crutches. Kikuta agreed. Kikuta left Justin's room. Then, according to Justin, Kikuta burst back into his room and started to push him. Justin grabbed one of the crutches and tried to get away. Kikuta then punched Justin in t...

State v. Durham (HSC May 27, 2011) Background. Cornelius Wesley Durham was indicted for two counts of sex assault in the third degree. HRS § 707-723(1)(b). He was sentenced to five years probation. One of the terms of probation required him to "participate satisfactorily in the Hawai'i Sex Offender Treatment Program . . . as approved by [his] probation officer, at [his] own expense until clinically discharged with the concurrence of [his] probation officer." Durham underwent treatment from Catholic Charities on Oahu. He was informed that he was not in compliance with the terms of treatment at Catholic Charities. Durham's friend and attorney, Leslie Iczkovitz, wrote a letter to the probation office seeking clarification on Durham's terms and conditions of probation. Catholic Charities involuntarily terminated Durham based in part on a threat of legal action inferred from Iczkovitz's letter. Six days after termination, Durham sought private ...

Naipo v. Border (HSC May 18, 2011) Background. Eshell Mitchell sued the Yuen family after Braddah, the Yuen dog, bit her. At the time of the incident, Mitchell was living with Jennifer Naipo. Mitchell claimed that the Naipo was bitten several times by Braddah several months before it bit her. The Yuens denied that their dog had bitten anyone. Naipo was deposed. She didn't have a lawyer. The Yuen's lawyer told her that she could refuse to answer a question that she believed invaded her personal privacy. Naipo answered all the questions. Naipo testified that she was not taken to the hospital for an injury to her forehead but that she went to the Wahiawa Hospital because a different Yuen dog, Misty, had been bitten her several times on the arm. Mitchell deposed Nanea Yuen. Nanea testified that Misty bit Naipo on her forehead, not her arm, and that they had to go to the hospital for that. In light of the conflicting testimony, Mitchell sought a subpoena d...

Hawaiian Properties, Ltd. v. Tauala (ICA April 28, 2011) Background. HPL brought in the district court a complaint for summary possession against Tauala on the grounds that she had broken a "rental agreement" with HPL due to unpaid rent. Tauala filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that she was a member of a housing co-op managed by HPL and had an ownership interest in the unit. Thus, she was not in a landlord-tenant relationship. HPL opposed and argued that she pretty much a tenant. The district court denied the motion and issued HPL a writ of possession. Tauala appealed. District Court has Jurisdiction is Limited to Landlord-Tenant Disputes. District courts "shall not have cognizance of real actions, nor actions in which the title of real estate comes in question[.]" HRS § 604-5(d). HPL initiated a summary possession proceeding pursuant to HRS chapter 666. Summary possession is "an expedient remedy to restore a landlord to the poss...

Corboy v. Louie (HSC April 27, 2011) Background. Real property owners and paid their taxes to the State and all the Counties under protest. The taxpayers brought a complaint in the tax court alleging that the tax exemption for Hawaiian Homeland lessees and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA) of 1921 were unlawful. Essentially, the taxpayers argued that the tax exemption violated the Equal Protection Clause. The governments brought a motion for summary judgment. The motion was granted. The taxpayers appealed and the ICA affirmed. The Taxpayers' Claim: tax Exemptions for Hawaiian Homes Lessees Violate the Equal Protection Clause. The HSC zeroed in on the actual claims brought by the taxpayers: that the exemptions pursuant to the HHCA and the HHCA itself violate the equal protection clause. The HSC noted that a challenge to the HHCA tax exemption is really a challenge to the requirement that only Native Hawaiians are eligible for the homestead leases and thus...

Blaisdell v. State (HSC April 26, 2011) Background. Richard Blaisdell was a prisoner in Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. Prison officials took audio cassette tapes from his cell. Blaisdell filed a pleading titled "Motion For Court to Order Saguaro Prison Officials to Give Blaisdell His Legal Material Forthwith" in the circuit court. The pleading requested the return of his tapes. No one was served with the pleading. The circuit court interpreted the pleading as a civil complaint and denied the request without prejudice on the grounds that it failed to comply with HRCP Rule 65(b), which pertains to injunctive relief. Blaisdell then filed an "Emergency Motion for a T.R.O. and/or Preliminary Injunction" again seeking the return of the tapes in order to prevent officials from destroying the tapes. Blaisdell argued the tapes were evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in the case that lead to his incarceration. The motion was denied. Bl...