No. CAAP-22-0000405, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 10:30 a.m., State vs. Kaiimi Skip Hiapo

STATE OF HAWAI‘I, Plaintiff-Appellant, vs. KAIIMI SKIP HIAPO, Defendant-Appellee.

[ Listen to the audio recording in MP3 format ]

The above-captioned case has been set for oral argument on the merits at:

Supreme Court Courtroom
Ali‘iōlani Hale, 2^nd Floor
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

The oral argument will also be livestreamed for public viewing via the Judiciary’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/hawaiicourts and ʻŌlelo TV 49 at olelo.org/tv-schedule/.

Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellant STATE OF HAWAI‘I:

     Renee Ishikawa-Delizo, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

Attorneys for Defendant-Appellee KAIIMI SKIP HIAPO:

     Bemjamin E. Lowenthal, Seth Patek, and Taryn R. Tomasa, Deputy Public Defenders

NOTE: Notice assigning Guidry, J., in place of Chan, J., due to expiration of temporary designation as Associate Judge, filed 06/01/23

NOTE: Order Rescinding in Part Minute Order No. 23-19 and Setting Oral Argument, filed 03/24/25

COURT: Leonard, Acting C.J., McCullen, and Guidry, JJ.

Brief Description:

On February 1, 2021, Plaintiff-Appellant State of Hawai‛i (State) charged Defendant-Appellee Kaiimi Skip Hiapo (Hiapo) in the underlying case no. 2CPC-21-0000111, by a five-count indictment (Indictment) ¹.  A month later, the State separately charged Hiapo in family court case no. 2FFC-21-0000086, by a two-count complaint (Complaint), with Abuse of Family or Household Members in violation of HRS § 709-906(1) (2014).

Hiapo pleaded guilty to the two counts of Abuse of Family or Household Member charged in the Complaint before the family court.  He then moved to dismiss the Indictment on the basis that, pursuant to HRS § 701-109(2) (2014), the charges in the Indictment should have been brought together with the two abuse counts charged in the Complaint.  HRS § 701-109(2) states,

[A] defendant shall not be subject to separate trials for multiple offenses based on the same conduct or arising from the same episode, if such offenses are known to the appropriate prosecuting officer at the time of the commencement of the first trial and are within the jurisdiction of a single court.

(Emphasis added.)  On April 27, 2022, the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit (circuit court) granted Hiapo’s motion to dismiss, and filed its “Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order Granting [Hiapo’s] Motion to Dismiss for Violation of HRS § 701-109(2).”

The State appealed.  On appeal, the State raises two points of error:

1. The circuit court abused its discretion in granting the motion to dismiss.
2. The Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order Granting Hiapo’s Motion to Dismiss for Violation of HRS § 701-109(2) are erroneous.
   

  ¹ The Indictment charged Hiapo with: Terroristic Threatening in the First Degree, in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 707-716(1)(e) (2014) (Count 1); Reckless Endangering in the First Degree, in violation of HRS § 707-713(1) (2014) (Count 2); Place to Keep Loaded Firearms Other than Pistols and Revolvers, in violation of HRS § 134-23(a) (2011) (Count 3); Carrying or Possessing a Loaded Firearm on a Public Highway, in violation of HRS § 134-26(a) (2011) (Count 4); and Place to Keep Ammunition, in violation of HRS § 134-27(a) (2011) (Count 5).