No. SCWC-12-0000359 Thursday, October 17, 2013, 10 a.m

STATE OF HAWAI`I, Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. SHANE FLORES, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant, and FLOYD ORSBORN and ROBERT LOGSDON, Respondents/Defendants.

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/Defendant-Appellant: 

Jeffrey A. Hawk of Hawk Sing & Ignacio

Attorney for Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee:

Stephen K. Tsushima, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

NOTE: Order accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 09/17/13.

COURT: MER, CJ; PAN, SRA, SSM, & RWP, JJ.

[ Listen to the entire audio recording in mp3 format ]

Brief Description:

Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant Shane Flores (Flores) was charged with kidnapping. At trial, Flores asked the court to give the jury instructions on the lesser included offense of unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, in addition to kidnapping. The trial court declined to do so. The jury found Flores guilty of kidnapping.

The Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) held that the trial court erred in failing to give the jury instruction on unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, but that the error was harmless because Flores was convicted on the greater charge of kidnapping.

In his Application for Writ of Certiorari, Flores asks whether the ICA erred in holding that the trial court’s refusal to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of unlawful imprisonment in the first degree was harmless error.