No. SCPW-24-0000537, Thursday, September 12, 2024, 10:30 a.m.

HAWAI‘I POLICE DEPARTMENT, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I, Petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE PETER K. KUBOTA, Judge of the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit, State of Hawai‘i, Respondent Judge, and ALBERT IAN SCHWEITZER, SHAWN SCHWEITZER, and STATE OF HAWAI‘I, Respondents.

[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, 2nd 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 Community Television 53 (olelo.org/tv-schedule/).

Attorney for Petitioner HAWAI‘I POLICE DEPARTMENT:

     E. Britt Bailey, Deputy Corporation Counsel

Attorneys for Respondent ALBERT IAN SCHWEITZER:

     Jennifer L. Brown, L. Richard Fried, Jr., and William A. Harrison of the Hawai‘i Innocence Project

Attorney for Respondent SHAWN SCHWEITZER:

     Keith S. Shigetomi

Attorneys for Respondent STATE OF HAWAI‘I:

     Shannon Kagawa and Michael Kagami, Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys

NOTE:     Amending previous Memo of Setting to include the addition of Deputy Prosecutors for Respondent STATE OF HAWAI‘I, Shannon Kagawa and Michael Kagami.

COURT: Recktenwald, C.J., McKenna, Eddins, Ginoza, and Devens, JJ.

Brief Description:

This case is a petition for a writ of mandamus.  Brothers Albert Ian Schweitzer and Shawn Schweitzer were convicted of several offenses for the death of Dana Ireland.  Upon new evidence, both Schweitzers successfully moved to have their convictions vacated.  Now, the Schweitzers seek compensation for their wrongful imprisonment under Hawai‘i Revised Statutes § 661B-3.

The Schweitzers moved to compel the Hawai‘i County Police Department (HPD) to produce information related to the investigation of Ireland’s death.  The Circuit Court of the Third Circuit, Judge Peter K. Kubota presiding, granted the motion to compel.  The Schweitzers served a subpoena on HPD.  HPD moved to quash the subpoena, arguing that it would not release the records because the investigation was still open.  The circuit court denied the motion to quash.  HPD filed a writ of mandamus, asking this Court to order Judge Kubota to vacate his denial of HPD’s motion to quash.