State v. Su
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The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII), holding that admissibility of evidence under Haw. R. Evid. 608(b) involves a two-step inquiry and that the ICA erred to the extent that it suggested a trial court can consider excluded evidence in reaching judgment.
At trial, defense counsel sought to impeach the credibility of one of the State's witnesses under Rule 608(b). Counsel argued that specific instances of conduct evincing the witness's untruthfulness were contained in transcripts from three other proceedings in which he was a witness for the State. The district court refused to allow defense counsel to cross-examine the witness concerning these proceedings. The ICA upheld the evidentiary rulings, noting that the district court was able to review the materials concerning the three proceedings. The Supreme Court remanded this case to the district court, holding (1) the district court erred in precluding defense counsel from cross-examining that witness as to two of the proceedings; and (2) to the extent the ICA suggested that the district court reached its judgment by taking into account evidence it had excluded, such suggestion is wrong.
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