State v. Wakamoto

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The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) and the district court’s notice of entry of judgment convicting Defendant of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII) and remanded this case to the district court, holding that the district court erred in admitting an officer’s testimony regarding Defendant’s field sobriety test over defense objection without requiring the property evidentiary foundation.The officer reviewed his report for the second time after already reviewing his report once to answer the prosecutor’s questions about the standardized field sobriety test. Over defense objection, the district court allowed the testimony as refreshed memory without a foundation having been laid that the officer’s memory had been refreshed by reviewing the report. The ICA affirmed, concluding that no legal authority requires the laying of such a foundation. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that legal authority requires that before testimony is admitted pursuant to Haw. R. Evid. 612 after a witness reviews a writing while testifying for the purpose of refreshing memory, an evidentiary foundation must be laid establishing that the witness’s memory has actually been refreshed. The ICA erred in holding otherwise, and the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. View "State v. Wakamoto" on Justia Law