State of Hawaiʻi v. Silber M. Jercy

Summary

The Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals vacated the circuit court's order denying Silber M. Jercy's motion to suppress an eyewitness identification and the amended judgment of conviction. The court held that the circuit court failed to consider relevant show-up-identification reliability factors under HAWJIC 3.19A and failed to evaluate the impact of the impermissibly suggestive identification procedure. The case was remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. A trial court must consider the relevant HAWJIC 3.19A show-up-identification factors, the impact of the suggestive procedures, and other relevant circumstances as part of the totality-of-the-circumstances reliability analysis determining whether an impermissibly suggestive identification is admissible.
2. The circuit court clearly erred in finding that the witness identified Jercy without prompting and in concluding that the identification was sufficiently reliable for admissibility because it failed to evaluate the relevant show-up factors and the impact of the extraordinarily suggestive procedure.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court erred by denying the motion to suppress an eyewitness identification after finding that the police show-up was impermissibly suggestive but failing to evaluate the effect of the suggestiveness on the identification's reliability.
2. Whether the circuit court clearly erred in finding that the witness identified Jercy during the show-up without prompting and in concluding that the identification was sufficiently reliable for admissibility.

Disposition

vacated