Hawai'i Legal News

  Alm v. Eleven (11) Products Direct Sweepstakes Machines, et al. (HSC December 20, 2021) Background. On September 26, 2012, Honolulu Police Department officers got a warrant to search a business called Winner’z Zone to look for gambling-related machines. They find 77 Product Direct Sweepstakes (PDS) machines (which look like this ), cash, and other evidence believed to be related to unlawful gambling. For two years the property was held in police custody before HPD initiated forfeiture proceedings. The criminal investigation was abandoned, but the police held onto the machines. On September 12, 2014, the police generated a new report and report number stating the machines were re-seized for forfeiture purposes.   A week later, the police requested the prosecutor to initiate proceedings to forfeit the machines. On September 22, 2014, the prosecution filed a petition for administrative forfeiture with the Department of Attorney General. A business known as PJY Enterprise...

Carlisle v. One Boat (HSC November 17, 2008) Background. DLNR officers stopped a boat off the coast of Waianae. They saw the boat operators pulling up a net without a diver in the water. Pieces of coral were in the nets. The State petitioned the circuit court to forfeit the boat based on violations of DLNR administrative rules preventing the taking of stony coral. HAR §§ 13-95-70 and 13-95-71. The claimants moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the violations were not "covered offenses" and thus the State had no power to forfeit the coral. The circuit court agreed with the claimants and dismissed the petition by an order. However, the judgment was prepared by the State two years later. Once the judgment was entered, the State appealed to the ICA , which found appellate jurisdiction and reversed the circuit court. An Appealable Order is a Final one. The HSC agreed with the ICA that there was appellate jurisdiction. In a civil appeal, the notice of appeal must be ...

Carlisle v. One Boat (ICA February 27, 2008) Overruled Background. One night off the Waianae Coast, DLNR agents spotted a fishing boat with gill nets. The agents told the people on the boat to pick up the nets with a diver in the water to ensure that no coral would be harmed. There was no such diver. Even if there had been, the agents saw several pieces of broken coral stuck in the net. The prosecutor’s office, under the aegis of the State, brought forfeiture proceedings to seize the boat that was used in the commencement of the intentional taking of live coral or live rocks in violation of HAR §§ 13-95-70 and 13-95-71. The claimants, fishermen, in a motion to dismiss, argued that these offenses are not covered by the forfeiture law. The circuit court agreed and ordered that the case be dismissed. It took almost three years, however, for the court to enter a final judgment on December 6, 2004. The State filed a notice of appeal shortly after entry of the judgment. Appealing from Judg...