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***FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI # I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER***

Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCWC-30138 12-SEP-2011 09:45 AM

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I ---o0o---

STATE OF HAWAI#I, Petitioner/Plaintiff-Appellee vs. JOHN C. VEIKOSO, Respondent/Defendant-Appellant

NO. SCWC-30138 CERTIORARI TO THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS (CR. NO. 09-1-0194) SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 RECKTENWALD, C.J., NAKAYAMA, ACOBA, DUFFY, AND MCKENNA, JJ. OPINION OF THE COURT BY ACOBA, J. We hold that, although the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) held that the circuit court of the first circuit (the court)1 erred in admitting the testimony of Dr. Wayne Lee (Dr. Lee), the physician who examined Complaining Witness (CW) #2

1

The Honorable Steven S. Alm presided.

***FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI # I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER***

regarding alleged threats made by Respondent/Defendant-Appellant John C. Veikoso (Respondent) against CW #2, the ICA committed grave error in concluding that the error was not harmless. See

State v. Veikoso, No. 30138, 2010 WL 5037006, at *16-17 (App. Dec. 9, 2010) (mem.). In our view, the error in admitting such Accordingly,

testimony was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

we reverse the February 1, 2011 judgment of the ICA, filed pursuant to its December 9, 2010 Memorandum Opinion (memo op.),2 insofar as it vacated the court's September 28, 2009 Judgment convicting Respondent on Counts 4-8 (involving CW #2) and remanded those counts for a new trial.3 I. On February 11, 2009, Respondent was charged by Petitioner/Plaintiff-Appellee State of Hawai#i (Petitioner) in an eight-count indictment with: (1) Sexual Assault in the First

Degree, Hawai#i Revised Statutes (HRS)

Download State v. Veikoso. ICA mem.op., filed 12/09/2010.pdf

Hawaii Law