State v. Silva
| Decision Date | 29 November 2019 |
| Docket Number | NO. CAAP-18-0000883,CAAP-18-0000883 |
| Citation | 452 P.3d 767 (Table) |
| Parties | STATE of Hawai‘i, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John R. SILVA, Defendant-Appellant |
| Court | Hawaii Court of Appeals |
On the briefs:
Harrison L. Kiehm, Honolulu, for Defendant-Appellant.
Landon M. M. Murata, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
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On July 18, 2018, a jury found Defendant-Appellant John R. Silva (Silva) guilty of second degree assault in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 707-711(1) (c). He was sentenced by the Circuit Court of the First Circuit1 to an open term of imprisonment of five years. He appealed, contending that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the Judgment of Conviction and Sentence entered on October 3, 2018.
When the defendant in a criminal case challenges the legal sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction:
evidence adduced in the trial court must be considered in the strongest light for the prosecution[.] ... 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. ... "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.
State v. Eastman, 81 Hawai‘i 131, 135, 913 P.2d 57, 61 (1996) (). "The jury, as the trier of fact, is the sole judge of the credibility of witnesses or the weight of the evidence." State v. Wagner, 139 Hawai‘i 475, 485, 394 P.3d 705, 715 (2017) (citation omitted).
HRS § 707-711 (2014) provides, in relevant part:
HRS § 707-700 (2014) contains the following definition:
"Bodily injury" means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.
HRS § 702-206 (2014) defines states of mind:
Pat Sooalo testified at Silva's trial. He worked as an Adult Correctional Officer (ACO) at O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) . On December 21, 2015, he was on duty at OCCC and assigned to Module 17. Silva was housed in Module 17, cell 111.
ACO Sooalo smelled smoke. Inmates are not allowed to smoke in their cells. ACO Sooalo tracked the scent to Silva's cell. A number of inmates were in the cell. ACO Sooalo told the inmates who were not assigned to cell 111 to leave. After they left, ACO Sooalo entered the cell, which contained Silva and two other inmates. Their eyes were open but rolled back. They were all breathing. ACO Sooalo asked them what they were burning. No one responded. Silva was sitting on the toilet. ACO Sooalo saw that something in the toilet was burning. He obtained a pair of gloves from his shift partner, ACO Dave Valledor, and asked ACO Valledor to call for backup and to lock down Module 17.
ACO Sooalo then attempted to retrieve the burning evidence from the toilet. Silva, who was still seated on the toilet, started kicking ACO Sooalo in the knees. Silva stood up and started punching ACO Sooalo's neck and body. ACO Sooalo took Silva down to the ground by sweeping Silva's legs. Once on the ground, Silva started kicking ACO Sooalo's knees and thighs. ACO Sooalo felt a sharp pain in his calf. Silva was holding a piece of wood with a nail in it. By then, backup had arrived and ACO Sooalo took the item away from Silva with the help of ACO Anthony Marcus. The item was received in evidence as State's Exhibit 3.
ACO Sooalo lifted...
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