Supreme Court of Hawaii Decisions 2021
Date: December 29, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000515
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction for disorderly conduct, holding that the trial court lacked sufficient evidence to convict Defendant of…
Date: December 27, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-21-0000592
Date: December 20, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000848
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the failure of the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) and the prosecutor in this case to comply with the twenty-day and forty-five-day statutory deadlines contained in Haw. Rev. Stat. 712A-7 and…
Date: December 16, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: December 15, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000711
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the family court's order denying Father's motion to set aside default and his motion to intervene,…
Date: December 10, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000684
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the district court's order on motion for summary judgment and judgment, holding that the ICA erred…
Date: December 10, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000361
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) determining that the criminal complaint against Defendant did not comply with Haw. Rev. Stat. 805-1 but that a non-compliant complaint…
Date: December 2, 2021
Docket Number: SCAP-21-0000291
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the gravity of a crime, by itself, does not establish an exigency empowering law enforcement officers to bypass the warrant requirement and that the State must articulate objective facts…
Date: December 2, 2021
Docket Number: SCOT-16-0000690
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this case to the Leeward Planning Commission (LPC) for proceedings consistent with this opinion, holding that the LPC and the Planning Director of the County of Hawai'i wrongfully denied The…
Date: November 30, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000755
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that courts cannot impose imprisonment exceeding the statutory threshold for a probationary sentence and also conditions of probation, and therefore, Defendant's sentence in this case was…
Date: November 29, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: November 19, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000783
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated in part and affirmed in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the judgment of the circuit court and granting Plaintiffs' motion for attorney's fees on appeal,…
Date: November 18, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-21-0000593
Date: November 10, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000423
Date: November 4, 2021
Docket Number: SCAP-19-0000372
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the final judgment of the circuit court granting the State's motion for summary judgment and dismissing Plaintiffs' complaint seeking a declaratory order that a recently enacted bill was adopted…
Date: November 1, 2021
Docket Number: SCAD-21-0000561
Date: October 27, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000451
Justia Opinion Summary: In this consolidated appeal arising from the rulings of the family court on remand from a published opinion of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) in a divorce case, holding that the family court abused its…
Date: October 25, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000387
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that wrongful foreclosures in violation of the power of sale are voidable, rather than void, and to the extent Silva v. Lopez, 5 Haw. 262 (1884), is to the contrary, it is overruled. Plaintiffs'…
Date: October 22, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000532
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate appellate court (ICA) and the circuit court's order denying Appellant's eighth Haw. R. Pen. P. Rule 40 petition for post-conviction relief, holding that…
Date: October 22, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000644
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Appellant's Haw. R. Pen. P. 35(b) motion to reduce his sentence for negligent homicide in the first degree and two drug-related charges, holding that…
Date: October 12, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-21-0000483
Date: October 1, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000599
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the circuit court's judgment of conviction and sentence and remanding the case to the circuit court…
Date: September 30, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: September 30, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000266
Date: September 27, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000473
Date: September 21, 2021
Docket Number: SCAP-20-0000110
Justia Opinion Summary: In this litigation concerning the future of Mauna Kea, the Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court granting in part and denying in part KAHEA: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance's motion to quash a…
Date: September 17, 2021
Docket Number: SCAP-19-0000450
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court mandating the release of certain records, holding that the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA) required the release of the requested records. UIPA…
Date: September 13, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000004
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court that sustained Appellant's license revocation, holding that administrative driver's license…
Date: September 9, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000319
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction for assault in the first degree and remanded this case to the circuit court, holding that the trial court erred in conditioning the admission of evidence on expert…
Date: September 7, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-20-0000704
Date: September 3, 2021
Docket Number: SCCQ-19-0000397
Date: August 31, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000543
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of second-degree murder for the death of a minor, holding that, contrary to Defendant's contention on appeal, the jury's answer to a special interrogatory was…
Date: August 31, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000727
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for burglary, holding that the prosecutor committed misconduct but that the evidence overwhelmingly established Defendant's guilt. During Defendant's trial, the…
Date: August 25, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-30442
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction of possession of methamphetamine and of drug paraphernalia, holding that the admission of certain testimony contravened Haw. R. Evid. 404(b) and 403 because it was…
Date: August 19, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: August 12, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000812
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the final judgment order of the circuit court in connection with a dispute over whether Hitoshi Yoshikawa was allowed to…
Date: July 26, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: July 23, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-20-0000760
Date: July 19, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000559
Date: July 13, 2021
Docket Number: SCAD-21-0000394
Date: July 9, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000699
Date: July 9, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-20-0000760
Date: July 7, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-21-0000342
Date: July 7, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000478
Date: July 7, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000666
Date: June 30, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000630
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the circuit court's order denying Defendant's motion for a new trial, holding that the cumulative impact of misconduct on the part of…
Date: June 29, 2021
Docket Number: SCOT-20-0000309
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) did not abuse its discretion in deciding not to reopen a December 2014 order (Order No. 32600) upon allegations raised in 2019 that changed circumstances…
Date: June 29, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000581
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the order of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the order of the family court convicting Defendant of abuse of family or household member, holding that the improper admission of…
Date: June 28, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000656
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the summary disposition order of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the order of the circuit court dismissing Appellant's Haw. R. Pen. P. 40 petition, holding that the circuit court…
Date: June 24, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: June 23, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000594
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) concluding that the family court erred in dismissing count two of this complaint charging Defendant with certain offenses on the grounds…
Date: June 21, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000746
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning the admissibility and evidentiary weight of documents and declarations in a foreclosure proceeding the Supreme Court affirmed the amended judgment and order of the circuit court granting…
Date: June 21, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000699
Date: June 17, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000478
Date: June 16, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000478
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the circuit court's judgment affirming the decisions of the Maui Planning Commission approving an application for a special…
Date: June 16, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000453
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case involving the binding effect of a stipulation, the Supreme Court vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the circuit court's judgment with respect to the circuit court's…
Date: June 9, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000004
Date: June 4, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000439
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction and sentence for four counts of sexual assault in the second degree, holding that Defendant presented a "fair and just reason" for the withdrawal of his pleas of no…
Date: June 3, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000636
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal stemming from three separate criminal cases related to repeated violations of an injunction against harassment the Supreme Court vacated the circuit court's orders of resentencing and revocation of…
Date: June 1, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: May 28, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: May 28, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000435
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. on its complaint seeking judicial…
Date: May 27, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000636 ICA mem. op., filed 11/20/2019, 145 Haw. 296. Consolidated with Case Nos. CAAP-18-0000637 and CAAP-18-0000638. ICA Amended mem. op., filed. 12/17/2019 [ada], 146 Haw. 115. Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 02/17/2020. S.Ct. Order Accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 04/08/2020 [ada]. Circuit Court, 1st Circuit
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's sentence of an aggregate of seventeen years of imprisonment following the revocation of his probation, holding that before accepting a defendant's stipulation to a probation…
Date: May 26, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000423
Date: May 24, 2021
Docket Number: SCOT-20-0000569
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated two orders of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) denying a competitive bidding waiver to Hawai'i Electric Light Company, Inc. (HELCO) and denying Hu Honua's request for reconsideration of the…
Date: May 21, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000666
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the State's request for attorney's fees in this appeal arising from a grievance arbitration, holding that the State "incurred" attorney's fees for the purposes of Haw. Rev. Stat. 658A-25. In…
Date: May 20, 2021
Docket Number: SCAD-21-0000049
Date: May 13, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000266
Date: May 5, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000627
Date: April 22, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000712
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment on appeal entered by the intermediate court of appeals affirming the circuit court's final judgment in this compensation dispute based on an oral agreement, holding that the…
Date: April 20, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000812
Date: April 16, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: April 8, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000987
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) holding that Defendant was not deprived of due process when the circuit court refused to hold a hearing during trial as to whether…
Date: March 31, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: March 25, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: March 17, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000505
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's motions in limine to offer hearsay evidence, holding that the circuit court…
Date: March 12, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000361
Justia Opinion Summary: In this custody dispute, the Supreme Court vacated a settlement agreement reached by the parties during trial, holding that the family court's actions in reaching the settlement were improper, and thus the family court…
Date: March 11, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000773
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the family court's order granting the Department of Human Services (DHS) foster custody and the subsequent order terminating…
Date: March 4, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000334
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII), Haw. Rev. Stat. 291E-61(a)(1),…
Date: February 23, 2021
Docket Number: SCAD-19-0000144
Date: February 18, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: February 18, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000699
Date: February 16, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000176
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the intermediate court of appeals' (ICA) judgment on appeal with respect to defendant Nicole Jadan's counterclaim and vacated the district court's judgment, holding…
Date: February 9, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000797
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the circuit court's order granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained in a search of Defendant's bedroom, holding…
Date: February 8, 2021
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: February 4, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-21-0000028
Date: February 1, 2021
Docket Number: SCAP-19-0000854
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the final judgment of the circuit court dismissing, for lack of jurisdiction, Petitioner's petition to impeach Honolulu City Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro under section 12-203 of the Revised…
Date: January 29, 2021
Docket Number: SCPW-21-0000028
Date: January 26, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000695
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the circuit court's order denying Petitioner's petition to vacate, set aside, or correct illegal sentence through a writ of habeas…
Date: January 20, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000478
Date: January 19, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000602
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeal Board's (LIRAB) denial of Petitioner's request to reopen her workers compensation…
Date: January 14, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000071
Justia Opinion Summary: In this foreclosure action, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) concluding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by denying Appellants' motion to extend time to…
Date: January 8, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000368
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's order affirming the final decision of the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) Board and dismissing…
Date: January 5, 2021
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000141
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's denial of Defendant's second Haw. R. Penal. P. 40 petition for post-conviction relief, holding that the ICA…
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