State v. Kauhane
| Decision Date | 29 November 2018 |
| Docket Number | NO. CAAP-16-0000668,CAAP-16-0000668 |
| Citation | 436 P.3d 1192 |
| Parties | STATE of Hawai‘i, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Keith KAUHANE, Defendant-Appellant |
| Court | Hawaii Court of Appeals |
On the briefs:
Hayden Aluli, Wailuku, for Defendant-Appellant.
Richard K. Minatoya, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Defendant-Appellant Keith Kauhane (Kauhane ) appeals from the "Judgment Conviction and Probation Sentence" (Judgment ) filed on September 9, 2016, in the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit (circuit court ).1
On June 7, 2016, Kauhane was charged via a Second Amended Complaint with: Failure to Disperse, in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS ) § 711-1102 (2014) ; Obstructing, in violation of HRS § 711-1105(1)(a) (2014);2 and Disorderly Conduct, in violation of HRS § 711-1101(1)(d) (2014). Following a jury trial, Kauhane was found guilty of Obstructing. At sentencing, Kauhane was sentenced for a petty misdemeanor under HRS § 711-1105(5).
On appeal, Kauhane asserts the following points of error: (1) the Second Amended Complaint is defective for failing to allege an element of Obstructing, specifically the asserted attendant circumstance that Kauhane's conduct had "render[ed] [the road] impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard"; (2) the circuit court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the mitigating defense under HRS § 711-1105(5), which reduces Obstructing from a petty misdemeanor to a violation; (3) his conviction cannot stand because the evidence is insufficient to sustain the offense of Obstructing; and (4) the circuit court erred by sustaining the prosecution's objection during closing argument under the "golden rule" because the jury was entitled to consider Kauhane's choice-of-evils defense by "walking in his shoes."
We disagree with Kauhane regarding his first, third, and fourth points of error. However, given the evidence in this case, we agree with Kauhane's second point of error that the jury should have been instructed regarding the mitigating defense under HRS § 711-1105(5), which could reduce Obstructing from a petty misdemeanor to a violation. We thus vacate Kauhane's conviction for Obstructing and remand for a new trial.
On August 20, 2015, the Maui Police Department (MPD ) Specialized Emergency Enforcement Detail (SPEED ) team was assigned to accompany construction vehicles and equipment en route to the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST ) construction site at the summit of Haleakala on the island of Maui. At approximately mile marker two on Crater Road, the convoy encountered a number of individuals standing shoulder to shoulder blocking the road, forcing the convoy to stop. MPD Captain Clyde Holokai (Captain Holokai ) approached the individuals and asked them to move off the roadway, which they did not do. The SPEED team got into formation and Captain Holokai then re-approached the individuals with the rest of the SPEED team. Captain Holokai and other SPEED team members repeatedly requested and ordered the individuals to get off the road. Many of the individuals dispersed, revealing seven additional people seated in the middle of the roadway with some linking arms, including Kauhane. These remaining individuals, including Kauhane, were subsequently arrested.
On June 7, 2016, the State of Hawai‘i (State ) filed its Second Amended Complaint against Kauhane. A jury trial commenced, and the trial took a total of three days.
On June 29, 2016, the jury returned its verdict and found Kauhane guilty as charged of Obstructing, but not guilty of Failure to Disperse or Disorderly Conduct.
On September 9, 2016, the circuit court entered its Judgment and sentenced Kauhane to, inter alia, six (6) months probation, a fine of $300, and a one-day jail sentence with credit for time served.
On October 10, 2016, Kauhane filed a timely notice of appeal.
"Whether a charge sets forth all the essential elements of a charged offense is a question of law which we review under the de novo, or right/wrong, standard." State v. Wheeler, 121 Hawai'i 383, 390, 219 P.3d 1170, 1177 (2009) ().
"Questions of law are reviewed upon appeal under the right/wrong standard of review." Cedillos v. Masumoto, 136 Hawai‘i 430, 440, 363 P.3d 278, 288 (2015) (quoting Maile Sky Court Co. v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 85 Hawai‘i 36, 39, 936 P.2d 672, 675 (1997) ).
Evidence adduced in the trial court must be considered in the strongest light for the prosecution when the appellate court passes on the legal sufficiency of such evidence to support a conviction. ... The test on appeal is not whether guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt, but whether there was substantial evidence to support the conclusion of the trier of fact.
State v. Nakamitsu, 140 Hawai‘i 157, 164, 398 P.3d 746, 753 (2017) (quoting State v. Richie, 88 Hawai‘i 19, 33, 960 P.2d 1227, 1241 (1998) ) (internal brackets omitted). " ‘Substantial evidence’ as to every material element of the offense charged is credible evidence which is of sufficient quality and probative value to enable a person of reasonable caution to support a conclusion." Richie, 88 Hawai‘i at 33, 960 P.2d at 1241 (citation omitted).
Kauhane asserts, and the State concedes, that the Second Amended Complaint was defective because it failed to define the term "obstructs." Notwithstanding the State's concession, we "must still determine whether the error was properly preserved, was prejudicial ... and is supported by the record." State v. Hoang, 93 Hawai'i 333, 336, 3 P.3d 499, 502 (2000). Kauhane also argues he was prejudiced by the Second Amended Complaint's failure to include the definition of "obstructs" because it failed to provide notice of the State's burden to prove his conduct rendered Crater Road "impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard." As to this argument, the State argues Kauhane did not object to the charge until the instant appeal and, under the Motta / Wells rule, has failed to prove he was prejudiced by the allegedly defective complaint because the definition of "obstructs" was given as a jury instruction and Kauhane was thus aware of the definition at trial.
The Supreme Court of Hawai‘i has adopted the " Motta/ Wells post-conviction liberal construction rule" for cases in which the sufficiency of a charge is challenged for the first time on appeal. Wheeler, 121 Hawai‘i at 399, 219 P.3d at 1186 ; see also State v. Merino, 81 Hawai‘i 198, 212, 915 P.2d 672, 686 (1996) ; State v. Motta, 66 Haw. 89, 90, 657 P.2d 1019, 1019-20 (1983) ; Wells, 78 Hawai‘i at 381, 894 P.2d at 78.
Under this approach, there is a "presumption of validity[ ]" for charges challenged subsequent to a conviction. In those circumstances, [the supreme court] will not reverse a conviction based upon a defective indictment or complaint unless the defendant can show prejudice or that the indictment or complaint cannot within reason be construed to charge a crime.
Wheeler, 121 Hawai‘i at 399-400, 219 P.3d at 1186-87 (citations, some internal quotation marks and some brackets omitted).
Given that Kauhane is challenging the sufficiency of the Second Amended Complaint for the first time on appeal, we apply the Motta/ Wells rule. The Second Amended Complaint charged the offense of Obstructing in Count Two as follows:
"Obstructs" is defined in HRS § 711-1100 (2014) as "renders impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard." By comparison, the definition of "obstruct" in Black's Law Dictionary states:
1. To block or stop up (a road, passageway, etc.); to close up or close off, esp. by obstacle < obstruct the runway>. 2. To make difficult or impossible; to keep from happening; hinder < to obstruct the peace process>. 3. To cut off a line of vision; to shut out < the new construction obstructs our view of the road>.
Obstruct , Black's Law Dictionary 1246 (10th ed. 2014). The definition of "obstruct" set out in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary states "[1]: to block or close up by an obstacle [2]: to hinder from passage, action, or operation : IMPEDE [3]: to cut off from sight[.]" Obstruct , Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed. 2003).
We disagree with Kauhane's claim, and the State's concession, that the Second Amended Complaint was defective for failing to define "obstructs." We conclude that the term "obstructs" as defined in HRS § 711-1100 comports with its commonly understood definition, and use of that term in the Second Amended Complaint is readily comprehensible to persons of common understanding. See State v. Mita, 124 Hawai‘i 385, 390-93, 245 P.3d 458, 463-66 (2010) (); State v. Tsujimura, 140 Hawai'i 299, 308-09, 400 P.3d 500, 509-10 (2017) (); State v....
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State v. Kauhane, SCWC-16-0000668
...(ICA) vacated the conviction based on an error in the jury instructions, and remanded for a new trial. See State v. Kauhane, 144 Hawai‘i 109, 112, 436 P.3d 1192, 1195 (App. 2018). Nevertheless, on certiorari, Kauhane asks this court to further determine: (1) whether the ICA erred in determi......
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