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Electronically Filed
Supreme Court
SCWC-12-0000897
25-FEB-2016
03:04 PM
SCWC-12-0000897
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI'I
STATE OF HAWAI'I, Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
CIERRA ANN M. KAM, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant.
CERTIORARI TO THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
(CAAP-12-0000897; CASE NO. 1DTA-12-00359)
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna,
Pollack, and Wilson, JJ.)
Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant Cierra Ann Kam seeks
review of the Intermediate Court of Appeals’ (ICA) January 20,
2015 Judgment, entered pursuant to its November 26, 2014 Opinion,
affirming the District Court of the First Circuit’s September 28,
2012 Judgment and Notice of Entry of Judgment.1 The district
court found Kam guilty of Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence
1
The Honorable David W. Lo presided.
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of an Intoxicant (OVUII) as a repeat offender, in violation of
Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 291E-61; and Operating a Vehicle
after License and Privilege Have Been Suspended or Revoked for
Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of an Intoxicant
(OVLPSR-OVUII) as a first-time offender, in violation of HRS
§ 291E-62.
On certiorari, Kam contends, inter alia, that the ICA
erred in holding that the district court properly permitted the
State to amend the charge against Kam to allege the required mens
rea for the offense. Kam argues that the defective charge
rendered the district court without jurisdiction over the case,
and, therefore, without jurisdiction to permit the State to amend
the charge. We disagree. In Schwartz v. State, we recently held
that “the failure of a charging instrument to allege an element
of an offense does not constitute a jurisdictional defect that
fails to confer subject-matter jurisdiction to the district
court.” No. SCWC-10-199, 2015 WL 7370086, at *21 (Haw. Nov. 19,
2015). Accordingly, the ICA correctly concluded that the
district court properly permitted the State to amend the charge.
We further conclude that Kam’s remaining claims lack
merit.
2
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the ICA’s Judgment on Appeal is
affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai'i, February 25, 2016.
Taryn R. Tomasa /s/ Mark E. Recktenwald
for petitioner
/s/ Paula A. Nakayama
Brian R. Vincent
for respondent /s/ Sabrina S. McKenna
/s/ Richard W. Pollack
/s/ Michael D. Wilson
3