No 27719 (March 19, 2009)
Opinion pdf
OPINION OF THE COURT BY MOON, C.J.
On January 29, 2009, this court accepted a timely application for a writ of certiorari, filed on December 17, 2008 by petitioner/defendant-appellee Marshall Hinton, seeking review of the Intermediate Court of Appeals' (ICA) September 18, 2008 judgment on appeal, entered pursuant to its August 26, 2008 summary disposition order (SDO). Therein, the ICA vacated the Circuit Court of the First Circuit's December 21, 2005 findings of fact (FOFs), conclusions of law (COLs), and order granting Hinton's motion to dismiss the indictment with prejudice. Oral argument was held on February 19, 2009.
Briefly stated, Hinton was indicted for allegedly touching the then-thirteen-year-old complainant [hereinafter, the complainant] on her genital area outside her clothing and was subsequently tried by a jury for sexual assault in the third degree, in violation of Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 707-732(1)(b) (Supp. 2008). However, the trial court declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict and, upon motion by Hinton, dismissed the indictment with prejudice, pursuant to State v. Moriwake. 65 Haw. 47, 647 P.2d 705 {1982), discussed infra. On appeal by respondent/plaintiff/appellant State of Hawai'i (the prosecution) , a majority of the ICA concluded that the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing the indictment and, accordingly, vacated the trial court's dismisal. Judge Foley dissented, concluding that the "[trial] court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the indictment against Hinton."
Hinton argues on application that "the ICA gravely erred in concluding that the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing the case under Moriwake" inasmuch as the ICA "improperly incorporated [a] novel 'separation of powers' consideration" into its analysis that "conflict[s] with Moriwake and its progeny." Based on the discussion below, we hold that the ICA erred in (1) injecting an additional "separation of powers" analysis into the Moriwake framework and (2) holding that the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing the indictment with prejudice. Accordingly, we reverse the ICA's judgment on appeal and affirm the trial court's December 21, 2005 FOFs, COLs, and order granting Hinton's motion to dismiss the indictment with prejudice. [footnotes omitted]
