 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Adam11/26/2001
n accused's character have here little or no force. Basque, 66 Haw. at 514, 666 P.2d at 602 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted; brackets and emphasis in the original).
In State v. Estrada, 69 Haw. 204, 738 P.2d 812 (1987), Estrada was charged with the attempted murder of Police Officer Taguma and asserted the defense of self-defense. The Hawaii Supreme Court concluded that the witness, a bar hostess, should have been allowed to testify "that Officer Taguma, while a Maui County liquor control inspector, had sexually harassed her, grabbed her breasts, and threatened to use his official powers to have her fired unless she had sexual relations with him." Id. at 211-12, 738 P.2d at 819.
Adam argues that the jury had a right to know that Wentworth was violent enough and aggressive enough to come to [Adam's] home to cause trouble, to blame his self-inflicted injury on [Adam], or [Adam's] dogs, and then to seek revenge against [Adam].
Stated differently, the Trial Court's ruling against the proffer was erroneous because it assumed that the question of the first aggressor only applied to the incident that occurred at the fence. It is abundantly clear, with Wentworth's admissions, that he was indeed the first aggressor at that stage. However, the analysis does not stop there. The Court's ruling forever prejudiced [Adam] from having a fair trial, when it failed to take into account that the issue of the first aggressor did not merely apply to the incident at the fence, but went back in time to the incident at the cliff.
The issue at the cliff was whether or not [Adam] threw the rock. If [Adam] threw the rock, unprovoked, then as to the entire incident he could be labeled as the first aggressor. If [Adam] did not throw the rock, as [Adam] professes, then who was the first aggressor as to the entire incident? In the minds of the jury, this surely must have been a question, and based on their decision, they must have decided that the was the first aggressor of the entire incident, and they did so without knowledge of Wentworth's nature. (Emphasis in original.)
We conclude that HRE Rule 404 prohibits evidence "that Wentworth was violent enough and aggressive enough to come to [Adam's] home to cause trouble, to blame his self-inflicted injury on [Adam], or [Adam's] dogs, and then to seek revenge against [Adam]."
It has been said that when the factual issue is who is the aggressor, the defendant may introduce evidence of the other person's violent or aggressive character. Lui, 61 Haw. at 330-31, 603 P.2d at 154. This statement is misleading. More correctly, when the factual issue is, as between the defendant and the other person, who was the aggressor, the defendant may introduce evidence of the other person's violent or aggressive character. In other words, there must be evidence to support a finding that the defendant was the aggressor and there must be contrary evidence to support a finding that the other person was the aggressor. In the situation where there is evidence to support a finding that the defendant was the aggressor and there is no evidence to support a finding that the other person was the aggressor, the defendant may not introduce evidence of the other person's violent or aggressive character. Id. Thus, with respect to Count I, evidence of Wentworth's violent or aggressive character was not admissible.
With respect to Count II, there was no factual issue as to who, Wentworth or Adam, was the first aggressor. Wentworth admitted he was the aggressor and Adam responded by firing his gun. The question was whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the force used by Adam was not justifiable. The jury was
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hawaii DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|