Hawai'i Legal News

  State v. Slavik (ICA October 27, 2021) Background. Nikolaus Slavik was charged with carrying or possessing a loaded firearm on a public highway (HRS § 134-26(a)); permits to acquire (HRS §§ 134-2 and 134-17); the offense of mandatory registration of firearms (HRS §§ 134-3(b) and 134-17); and place to keep ammunition (HRS § 134-27(a)). Slavik moved to dismiss the counts because the complaint failed to aver mens rea over the element that at the time of possession, Slavik “knew or recklessly disregarded the substantial and unjustifiable risk, that the object was a prohibited item.” The circuit court, with the Hon. Judge Robert D. S. Kim presiding, denied the motion.   At trial, Officer Henry Ivy testified that one summer morning he patrolling in the Kau District on the Big Island. He came across Slavik sleeping in a vehicle on the side of the road. Officer Ivy approached the car on the passenger side. The window was down. Slavik’s hand was on top of the pistol. The polic...

State v. Cattaneo (HSC October 22, 2021) Background. Michael Cattaneo pleaded no contest to negligent homicide in the first degree and two drug-related offenses. He was sentenced to ten years prison for the homicide and five years each for the drug offenses. The circuit court—the Hon. Judge Richard T. Bissen, Jr. presiding—ordered the drug offenses to run concurrently to each other but consecutively to the homicide totaling fifteen years imprisonment. Cattaneo filed a motion to reduce the sentence pursuant to Hawai'i Rules of Penal Procedure Rule 35(b). He requested that all counts run concurrently for an open ten-year sentence.   The circuit court denied the motion and specifically rejected Cattaneo’s argument that it had to evaluate his sentence with “comparable cases.” The circuit court stated it was not its “practice to review cases that are issued by other courts, whether in this circuit or others. Because I happen to know that every case is nuanced, every case has some...

  State v. Shaw (HSC October 1, 2021) Background. Susan Shaw was prosecuted for one count of computer fraud in the third degree and fraudulent use of a credit card. In the indictment, the prosecution pleaded in the computer fraud count that from January 16, 2017 through and including May 18, 2017, Shaw “did knowingly access a computer, or computer network with the intent to commit the offense of theft in the third degree[.]” The count also provided the elements to theft in the third degree. Shaw moved to dismiss the indictment based on lack of probable cause. Shaw argued that aggregating the amounts for the thefts into a single felony is not permitted under the computer fraud statute. The motion was denied. Shaw was convicted as charged and the circuit court—the Hon. Judge Fa‘auuga L. To‘oto‘o presiding—sentenced her to five years imprisonment. She appealed to the ICA. The ICA held that the credit card offense should have been dismissed. The ICA vacated judgment and remanded the...