Hawai'i Legal News

State v. Mundon (HSC December 5, 2012) Background. James Mundon was initially indicted with twenty-eight counts including various degrees of sexual assault, kidnapping, assault, and terroristic threatening. The counts stem from an incident that took place in a single night. At the first trial, Mundon represented himself and had standby counsel. He was found guilty of terroristic threatening in the first degree, attempted assault in the first, assault in the third degree, and attempted sexual assault in the first degree. Mundon appealed and challenged the jury instructions. The HSC agreed, reversed the terroristic threateningcounty, vacated the rest, and remanded the case for retrial. Trial. J ust before opening statements, the prosecution announced that it would be introducing evidence of acts for which Mundon had been acquitted. Mundon objected, but the circuit court overruled the objection. The complainant testified that she came to Kauai from Canada. On her second day, she...

State v. Clemente (ICA November 30, 2012) Background. Drew Clemente was prosecuted for one count of excessive speeding and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence. The key witness for the prosecution was the officer who pulled him over: Officer Jeffrey Tallion. At the bench trial, Officer Tallion testified for the prosecution, but did not finish on the first day. The District Court ordered Officer Tallion to come back nine days later at 10:00 a.m. On the second day, the court bailiff confused Officer Tallion with another officer in a different case who had called in sick. The District Court called the parties ahead of schedule and told them that Officer Tallion was ill. The prosecution orally moved to continue the trial. The District Court denied the motion and sua sponte dismissed the case with prejudice. About an hour later, Officer Tallion showed up, as scheduled, and the case was recalled. The bailiff realized her error and explained it to the court. The prose...