No. 29445 – Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 9 a.m.

STATE OF HAWAII, Petitioner/Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. CEDRIC K. KIKUTA, Respondent/Defendant-Appellant
(Abuse of a Family or Household Member)

Attorney(s) for Petitioner/Plaintiff-Appellee(s)
Douglas S. Chin, Acting Prosecuting Attorney, and Anne K. Clarkin, Deputy Prosecuting
Attorney, City & County of Honolulu

Attorney(s) for Respondent/Defendant-Appellant(s)
John M. Tonaki, Public Defender, and Jon N. Ikenaga, Deputy Public Defender

NOTE:    Certificate of Recusal, by Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon, filed 8/4/10.
NOTE:    Order assigning Circuit Court Judge Michael Wilson, in place of Chief Justice Moon, recused, filed 8/31/10.
COURT:    MER, CJ; PAN, SRA, JED, JJ; Circuit Court Judge Michael Wilson in place of former Chief Justice Moon, recused and now retired.

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Brief description:
Petitioner-Appellee, the State of Hawaii (the prosecution), has applied for a writ of certiorari to the Intermediate Court of Appeals’ (ICA) June 8, 2010 Judgment on Appeal filed pursuant to its May 18, 2010 Memorandum Opinion vacating the Family Court of the First Circuit’s (family court) October 1, 2008 Judgment of Conviction and Sentence.  In its application for writ of certiorari before this court, the prosecution presents the following questions:  1) “Whether the ICA gravely erred as a matter of law and fact in holding that the family court should have submitted an instruction on a parental discipline defense to the jury[;]” and 2) “Whether the ICA gravely erred in failing to find that the family court did not commit plain error in failing to give a mutual affray instruction with respect to the lesser included offense of Assault in the Third Degree[.]”