State v. Kawashima - Extraordinary Writ Denied

Hawaii Supreme Court

Filed April 6th, 2026

Detected April 7th, 2026

Summary

The Hawaii Supreme Court denied the State of Hawaiʻi's petition for extraordinary writ challenging a trial court's exclusion of witness Manuel Thomas. The court upheld the lower court's ruling that the State violated Rule 16(b)(1)(vii) of the Hawaiʻi Rules of Penal Procedure by failing to provide witness availability information and serve a subpoena by the February 26, 2026 deadline. The State had multiple opportunities since September 30, 2025, to serve Thomas at court hearings.

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What changed

The Hawaii Supreme Court denied SCPW-26-0000193, an extraordinary writ petition filed by the State of Hawaiʻi seeking to overturn Respondent Judge James S. Kawashima's exclusion of witness Manuel Thomas. The trial court excluded Thomas for three reasons: (1) the State violated Hawaiʻi Rule of Penal Procedure 16(b)(1)(vii) by failing to provide Thomas's availability information by February 26, 2026; (2) the State failed to serve Thomas with a subpoena by the same deadline, prejudicing the court's trial preparation; and (3) granting a continuance to subpoena Thomas was unjustified given the State's repeated opportunities since September 30, 2025. The court found no "flagrant and manifest abuse of discretion" warranting extraordinary relief.\n\nThe decision confirms that prosecutors bear responsibility for timely compliance with discovery and subpoena obligations under Hawaiʻi Rules of Penal Procedure. The State should ensure witness availability information is provided and subpoenas are served within court-ordered deadlines to avoid witness exclusion. Parties appearing before Hawaiʻi circuit courts should note that repeated failures to serve subpoenas at available court hearings may result in evidentiary sanctions regardless of the underlying case merits.

Source document (simplified)

Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCPW-26-0000193 06-APR-2026 01:16 PM Dkt. 7 ODDP SCPW-26-0000193 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI ________________________________________________________________ STATE OF HAWAIʻI, Petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE JAMES S. KAWASHIMA, Judge of the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaiʻi, Respondent Judge, and TONY JOHNSON, also known as Samuel Carter, Michael Carter, Tony Carter, "Chicago," Respondent. ________________________________________________________________ ORIGINAL PROCEEDING (CASE NO. 1CPC-22-0001081) ORDER DENYING PETITION (By: McKenna, Acting C.J., Eddins, Ginoza, and Devens, JJ., and Circuit Judge Wong, assigned by reason of vacancy) Upon consideration of the petition for extraordinary writ filed March 16, 2026, and the record, including the records of 1CPC-25-0001057 and 1CPC-23-0000135, we discern that Respondent Judge excluded Manuel Thomas (Thomas) as a trial witness for Petitioner State of Hawaiʻi (State) for the following reasons:

(1) the State violated Rule 16(b)(1)(vii) of the Hawaiʻi Rules of Penal Procedure by failing to provide Respondent with information by February 26, 2026, addressing Thomas's availability to testify at trial; (2) the State's failure to serve Thomas the subpoena by February 26, 2026, prejudiced Respondent's ability to prepare for trial; and (3) allowing the State a continuance to subpoena Thomas in lieu of excluding Thomas as a State witness was unjustified when the State had multiple opportunities to serve the subpoena on Thomas at court hearings that occurred since September 30, 2025, in 1CPC-25-0001057 and 1CPC-23-0000135, and Respondent has already declared ready for trial. We conclude Petitioner has not established a flagrant and manifest abuse of discretion constituting extraordinary circumstances to warrant a writ. See Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP v. Kim, 153 Hawaiʻi 307, 319, 537 P.3d 1154, 1166 (2023). It is ordered that the petition is denied. DATED: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, April 6, 2026. /s/ Sabrina S. McKenna /s/ Todd W. Eddins /s/ Lisa M. Ginoza /s/ Vladimir P. Devens /s/ Paul B.K. Wong