Justia Civil Rights Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Supreme Court of Hawaii
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Defendant was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and taken to the police station, where he was read an implied consent form. Defendant elected to take a breath test, which resulted in an elevated breath alcohol content reading. Defendant moved to suppress the breath test results, arguing that his Miranda rights were violated when he was asked, without Miranda warnings, if he wanted to refuse to take a blood alcohol test and that his statutory right to an attorney was violated. The district court denied the motion to suppress, and Defendant was convicted. The Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed. The Court of Appeals vacated the judgments of the lower courts, holding that, in accordance with State v. Won, the result of Defendant’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search. Remanded. View "State v. Ling " on Justia Law

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Defendant was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and taken to the police station, where he was read an implied consent form. Defendant elected to take a breath test. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the breath test results, arguing that his Miranda rights were violated when he was asked by the police, without Miranda warnings, if he wanted to refuse to take a blood alcohol test and that his right to an attorney was violated. The motion was denied, and Defendant was convicted. The Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that, in accordance with State v. Won, the result of Defendant’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search, and the ICA erred by concluding that the district court properly denied Defendant’s motion to suppress the breath test result. View "State v. Sailola " on Justia Law

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Defendant was arrested for suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII). Thereafter, Defendant was taken to the police station, where he was read an implied consent form. Defendant decided to take a breath test, which resulted in an elevated breath alcohol content reading. Defendant moved to suppress the breath test results on the basis that he did not knowingly or voluntarily consent to breath or blood testing. The district court denied the motion and convicted Defendant of OVUII. The Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the judgments of the lower courts, holding that, in accordance with State v. Won, the result of Defendant’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search due to the coercion engendered by the implied consent form. View "State v. Parker " on Justia Law

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Defendant was arrested for suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and subsequently taken to the police station, where he was read an implied consent form. Defendant elected to take a breath test, which resulted in an elevated breath alcohol content reading. Defendant moved to suppress the breath test results, arguing that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated. The circuit court denied the motion. The Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the lower court’s judgments, holding that the result of Defendant’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search due to the coercion engendered by the implied consent form. Remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings. View "State v. Moniz " on Justia Law

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Defendant was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII) and taken to the police station. After reading an implied consent form, Defendant elected to take a breath test. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the breath test result. The district court denied the motion. Defendant was subsequently found guilty of OVUII. The intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the ICA’s judgment on appeal and the district court’s judgment, holding that, in accordance with State v. Won, the result of Defendant’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search. Remanded. View "State v. Shimkus " on Justia Law

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Petitioner was found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. Petitioner appealed, arguing that the district court erred in admitting his blood alcohol test results into evidence in violation of his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights because the implied consent form that apprised him of the criminal refusal penalties was contrary to his constitutional right to withdraw his consent to a warrantless search. The Supreme Court vacated the district court’s judgment, holding that the result of Defendant’s blood test was the product of a warrantless search, and therefore, the district court erred in denying Petitioner’s motion to suppress the blood test result. View "State v. Terasako " on Justia Law

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Petitioner was found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. Petitioner appealed the denial of his motion to suppress the results of a breath alcohol test that he took after he was arrested, arguing that he did not constitutionally consent to the breath test because the implied consent form conveyed a threat of imprisonment and significant punishment for his refusal to submit to the test. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment, holding that the result of Petitioner’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search, and therefore, the district court erred in denying Petitioner’s motion to suppress the breath test result. Remanded. View "State v. Cheek-Enriques " on Justia Law

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Petitioner entered a conditional plea to the charges of habitually operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and of driving while license suspended or revoked. Petitioner subsequently appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence of a breath alcohol test that he took after he was arrested. Specifically, Petitioner contended that he did not constitutionally consent to the breath test because his consent was coerced by the implied consent form, which conveyed a threat of imprisonment and significant punishment for his refusal to submit to the test. The intermediate court of appeals affirmed the denial of Petitioner’s motion to suppress. The Supreme Court vacated the lower courts’ judgments, holding that the result of Petitioner’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search because the implied consent form was coercive. Remanded with instructions to enter an order granting Petitioner’s motion to suppress and to allow Petitioner to withdraw his conditional guilty plea as to both charges. View "State v. Lee " on Justia Law

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After being arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII) Defendant was taken to the police station, where she was read an implied consent form. Defendant chose to take a breath test, which resulted in an elevated breath alcohol content. The district court adjudged Defendant guilty of OVUII. The intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the ICA’s judgment on appeal and the district court’s judgment, holding that Defendant’s consent was coerced by the implied consent form, which conveyed a threat of imprisonment and significant punishment for refusal to submit to a breath test. Consequently, the result of Defendant’s breath test was the product of a warrantless search, and the district court erred by denying Defendant’s motion to suppress the breath test result. View "State v. Murphy " on Justia Law

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The district court adjudged Defendant guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII). The intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirmed. On certiorari, Defendant argued that he did not constitutionally consent to a breath test that was taken after his arrest for OVUII because his consent was coerced by an implied consent form that conveyed a threat of imprisonment and punishment for refusal to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test. The Supreme Court vacated the ICA’s judgment on appeal and the district court’s judgment, holding that the result of Defendant’s breath test was the produced of a warrantless search, and therefore, the motion to suppress should have been granted. Remanded. View "State v. Gladman " on Justia Law