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State v. Bohannon8/21/2003
* FOR PUBLICATION *
LEVINSON, J., WITH WHOM MOON, C.J., JOINS, AND NAKAYAMA, J., CONCURRING SEPARATELY AND DISSENTING, AND ACOBA, J., DISSENTING, AND INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS CHIEF JUDGE BURNS, ASSIGNED BY REASON OF VACANCY, CONCURRING SEPARATELY
The plaintiff-appellant State of Hawaii [hereinafter, "the prosecution"] appeals from (1) the order of the district court of the first circuit, the Honorable Paula Devens presiding, file-stamped on January 25, 2001 but signed by Judge Devens on January 31, 2001, granting the defendant-appellee Alicia Anne Bohannon's motion to suppress items of evidence [hereinafter, "motion to suppress"] and oral motion to dismiss and (2) the order of the district court of the first circuit, the Honorable Paula Devens also presiding, file-stamped on December 11, 2000 but signed by Judge Devens on January 22, 2001, denying the prosecution's motion for reconsideration of the oral order granting Bohannon's motions to suppress and to dismiss.
On appeal, the prosecution contends that the district court erred in granting Bohannon's motion to suppress on the alternative grounds (1) that Honolulu Police Department (HPD) Officer Colby Kashimoto testified to sufficient "specific and articulable facts" to justify the investigative stop of Bohannon and (2) that the "public safety" and "community caretaking" exceptions to the warrant requirement justified the investigative stop because Officer Kashimoto had reasonable suspicion to believe that Bohannon was not operating her vehicle "in a safe and prudent manner." Bohannon responds that this court lacks jurisdiction to address the merits of the prosecution's appeal, the prosecution having failed to file a timely notice of appeal in the district court.
We hold that this court has jurisdiction to address the merits of the prosecution's appeal, inasmuch as the prosecution filed its notice of appeal within thirty days of the effective dates of both the written order granting Bohannon's motions to suppress and to dismiss and the written order denying the prosecution's motion for reconsideration, which was therefore timely pursuant to Hawaii Rules of Appellate Procedure (HRAP) Rule 4(b) (1999). We further hold that Officer Kashimoto had reasonable suspicion to stop Bohannon and, therefore, that the district court erred in granting Bohannon's motions to suppress and to dismiss. Accordingly, we vacate the district court's order granting Bohannon's motions to suppress and to dismiss and remand this matter to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. BACKGROUND
The present matter arises out of an incident that occurred on November 28, 1999, during which HPD Officer Kashimoto stopped Bohannon at the intersection of Kalakaua Avenue and Ala Wai Boulevard and subsequently arrested her for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 291-4 (Supp. 1999). The following evidence was adduced at the hearing on Bohannon's motion to suppress items of evidence obtained subsequent to the investigative stop (including the results of Bohannon's field sobriety test), conducted by the district court on May 26, 2000.
On November 28, 1999, at approximately 2:24 a.m., Officer Kashimoto was on routine patrol duty in the City and County of Honolulu. He stopped his vehicle, a three-wheeled Cushman, at the intersection of Kalakaua Avenue and Ala Wai Boulevard "in the makai most lane" and waited for the traffic light to turn from red to green. Officer Kashimoto testified that, at the time of the subject incident, the area was well lit -- i.e., that the overhead street lamps and Officer Kashimoto's head
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