No. SCWC-14-0001079, Thursday, February 16, 2017, 8:45 a.m.

STATE OF HAWAI`I, Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. SAMUEL EAGER, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant.
 
 The above-captioned case has been set for argument on the merits at:

Supreme Court Courtroom
Ali`iolani Hale, 2nd Floor
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

Attorney for Petitioner:

 Shawn A. Luiz

Attorney for Respondent:

 Loren J. Thomas, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

NOTE: Order accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 10/13/16.

COURT: MER, CJ; PAN, SSM, RWP, and MDW, JJ.

[ Listen to the entire audio recording in mp3 format ]

Brief Description:

  Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant Samuel Eager applied for certiorari from the Intermediate Court of Appeals’ (ICA) August 2, 2016 judgment, which affirmed the circuit court’s judgment against Eager.
   This case arises out of an incident in which Eager allegedly assaulted a stranger at a bus stop.  Eager was charged with assault in the second degree.  Eager waived his right to a jury trial, and the court found him guilty of assault in the second degree, sentencing him to five years’ imprisonment.
   Eager appealed his conviction to the ICA, arguing that the circuit court had improperly allowed an expert witness to testify regarding a report prepared by another expert witness.  Eager also argued that the circuit court erred in sentencing him to five years’ imprisonment, asserting that probation would have been more appropriate.  The ICA affirmed the circuit court’s judgment.

Eager’s application for writ of certiorari presents the following issues:
 (1) Petitioner was deprived of a fair trial because Dr. Wagner “considered the expert opinion of Dr. Jacobs in his testimony,” which, Petitioner argues, improperly bolstered Dr. Jacobs’ opinions, and

(2) The trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Petitioner to five years imprisonment because there were strong mitigating factors to withhold a prison sentence and instead sentence Petitioner to probation.