No 26989 (May 30, 2008)
Opinion [pdf]
Opinion [pdf]
OPINION OF THE COURT BY MOON, C.J.
On February 8, 2008, this court accepted a timely application for a writ of certiorari, filed by petitioner/defendant-appellant Anthony Kalani Akau on January 8, 2008, requesting this court review the Intermediate Court of Appeals' (ICA) October 11, 2007 judgment on appeal, entered pursuant to its September 21, 2007 summary disposition order (SDO). Therein, the ICA affirmed the Circuit Court of the First Circuit's October 15, 2004 judgment, convicting Akau of, and sentencing him for, -- pursuant to his conditional guilty plea -- three counts of promotion a dangerous drug in the second degree, in violation of Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 712-1242 (1993 & Supp. 2003). Oral argument was held on March 6, 2008.
. . . .
As discussed more fully infra, we hold that the ICA erred in affirming the circuit court's denial of Akau's motion to dismiss. Accordingly, we reverse the ICA's October 11, 2007 judgment on appeal and the circuit court's October 15, 2004 judgment of conviction in the drug buy case. [footnotes omitted]Dissenting opinion by Nakayama, J. [pdf], and concurring opinion by Acoba, J. [pdf]
