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State v. Arakaki8/28/1987
[7 HawApp Page 49] This is an appeal by defendant Larry N. Arakaki (Defendant) of his convictions for operating a motor vehicle not insured under a no-fault policy (insurance violation) contrary to the provisions of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 294-8(a) (1) (1985), and for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor (DUI) in violation of
HRS § 291-4(a)(2) (1985). Defendant contends that (1) the State failed to prove the insurance violation beyond a reasonable doubt and (2) since there was inadequate foundation for the admission of the intoxilyzer test result into evidence, this court should reverse the DUI conviction and direct the entry of a judgment of acquittal upon remand. We affirm the insurance violation conviction, vacate the judgment of conviction for DUI, and remand for retrial.
I. FACTS
After stopping Defendant for an alleged traffic violation, police officer Jason Dela Cruz (Dela Cruz) arrested Defendant for DUI. Dela Cruz then asked Defendant for his driver's license, no-fault insurance card, and vehicle registration. Defendant produced his driver's license, but could not locate the other two items. Believing the inability to locate the insurance card and registration was due to Defendant's intoxicated condition, Dela Cruz told Defendant he would help Defendant look "for his insurance card and registration, if was okay." Transcript at 35. Dela Cruz was able to find the vehicle registration, but not the insurance card. Thereupon, Dela Cruz arrested Defendant for the insurance violation.
At the police station, Defendant consented to a breath test. The intoxilyzer test result indicated 0.13 percent alcohol in Defendant's blood.
After a bench trial, the district court found him guilty of both the insurance violation and the DUI offense, and Defendant appealed.
II. INSURANCE VIOLATION
Regarding the insurance violation, Defendant and the State agree that to convict a person for a violation under HRS § 294-8(a), the State must prove that (1) the motor vehicle was being operated on a public highway, (2) the vehicle was not insured under a no-fault policy, and (3) the operator was either the owner or, if not the owner, had knowledge of or acted recklessly by not "ascertaining that there was a valid, current no-fault card in the vehicle[.]" State v. Lesher, 66 Haw. 534, 537, 669 P.2d 146, 148 (1983). Defendant concedes that there was proof that he was the owner of the automobile involved which was being operated on a public highway. He asserts, however, that the State "failed to meet its burden of proving that the car was not covered by insurance at the time of the citation." We disagree.
We hold that from the proven fact that Defendant failed to exhibit a no-fault insurance identification card upon demand of police officer Dela Cruz and that such card could not be found in Defendant's automobile, the trier of fact was permitted to draw an inference of the elemental fact that the automobile was uninsured.
"Inferences and presumptions are a staple of our adversary system of factfinding." Ulster County Court v. Allen, 442 U.S. 140, 156, 99 S. Ct. 2213, 2224, 60 L. Ed. 2d 777, 791 (1979). Where proof of elements of a crime cannot be shown or is difficult to show by direct evidence, "legislatures often provide for the inference of such elements of a crime based upon the existence of other proven facts." State v. Brighter, 61 Haw. 99, 103, 595 P.2d 1072, 1075 (1
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