State v. Vaimili

Petitioner was convicted for sex trafficking related crimes based on his conduct as a pimp for the complaining witness. Petitioner was present for voir dire and jury selection but failed to appear in court two days later despite instructions to do so. The trial was twice continued. After the second continuation, which lasted twenty-one days, the circuit court conducted trial in absentia. The intermediate court of Appeals (ICA) affirmed Petitioner’s conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance for failing to object to disjunctive charging language in jury instructions; and (2) the trial court did not violate Rule 43 of the Hawai’i Rules of Penal Procedure or violate Defendant’s right to be present at trial by proceeding with trial despite Defendant’s absence. View "State v. Vaimili" on Justia Law