Oral Argument Before the Hawaii Supreme Court–SCWC-15-0000859
No. SCWC-15-0000859, Thursday, September 19, 2019, 10 a.m.
JUSTIN T. WOLCOTT, Petitioner/Petitioner-Appellant, vs. ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE COURTS, STATE OF HAWAI I, Respondent/Respondent-Appellee.
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
Attorneys for petitioner:
Earle A. Partington of The Law Office of Earle A. Partington and R. Patrick McPherson of the Law Office R. Patrick McPherson, AAL, ALC
Attorney for respondent:
Robert T. Nakatsuji, Deputy Solicitor General
NOTE: Order accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 08/09/19.
COURT: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna, Pollack, and Wilson, JJ.
[ Listen to the entire audio recording in mp3 format ]
Brief Description:
Petitioner/Petitioner-Appellant Justin T. Wolcott’s (Wolcott) driver’s license was revoked for a period of ten years by the Administrative Driver’s License Revocation Office (ADLRO) when (1) he refused to submit to a blood or breath test when he was arrested for suspected operation of a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII), and (2) the ADLRO found in his record four previous “alcohol enforcement contacts,” that is, four prior OVUII convictions, in the past ten years. See Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 291E-41. The ADLRO records indicated that Wolcott had two prior OVUII convictions in Hawaii and two prior OVUII convictions in the state of Oregon.
The issue Wolcott raises on certiorari is whether the two prior alcohol enforcement contacts from Oregon were properly entered into evidence by the ADLRO. Wolcott argues that the ADLRO violated his due process rights by using the alleged Oregon OVUII convictions, without proper foundation, to extend his driver’s license revocation period from four years to ten years.