State vs Ines - Hawaii Supreme Court Oral Argument
I guess they liked my performance at the last oral argument because the Justices have invited me back on a new case. This one is criminal, and it is going to be interesting (live-stream options noted at end of post below).
Hawaii
Supreme Court
Oral Argument - Upcoming, Nov. 29, 2pm
Here’s what you need to know:
Case Name: State vs Ines/Lafoga
Salient Facts:
Attempted Murder: Both defendants were charged with attempted murder and kidnapping regarding an alleged shooting.
Lack of Gang Evidence: The prosecutors wanted to introduce evidence of alleged gang membership by both defendants, arguing that the shooting was gang-motivated.
Jury Selection: The Court, without any solid evidence, other than prosecutorial allegations, empaneled an anonymous jury (the names of prospective jurors being withheld from the innocent-until-proven-guilty defendants).
Guilty-Life: Both defendants were found guilty of the attempted murder charge and sentenced to Life With the Possibility of Parole.
Extended Sentence - No Parole: The jurors were then instructed that if the jury found it was “necessary for the protection of the public”, the jury could “extend the term” of the sentence from a “possible life term” to a “definite life term”. They were not told that the only difference between the two was the possibility of parole.
Issues Before the Supreme Court:
Were the defendants’ Constitutional and Statutory rights - to an impartial jury and to the presumption of innocence - denied where the Court empaneled an anonymous jury without any evidence being presented showing that the jury needed such protections?
Were the jury instructions regarding the “possible” versus “definite” life terms of imprisonment misleading where the jurors likely interpreted such as indicting that the non-extended prison terms were less-than-life terms of imprisonment?
Viewing Options:
YouTube… https://youtu.be/GXiupnxd0bM