State v. Kawashima

• Court: Hawaii Supreme Court
• Decided: April 6, 2026
• Docket: SCPW-26-0000193
• Status: Published

Opinion

Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX 06-APR-2026 01:16 PM Dkt. 7 ODDP

SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX

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-XX-XXXXXXX)

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-XX-XXXXXXX and 1CPC-XX-XXXXXXX, 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-XX-XXXXXXX and 1CPC-XX-XXXXXXX, 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