State v. Rudersdorf

548 P.3d 731, 154 Haw. 177
CourtHawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 17, 2024
DocketCAAP-19-0000350
StatusPublished

This text of 548 P.3d 731 (State v. Rudersdorf) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Rudersdorf, 548 P.3d 731, 154 Haw. 177 (hawapp 2024).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 17-MAY-2024 08:05 AM Dkt. 117 MO

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

STATE OF HAWAI#I, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. PATRICK DONOHUE RUDERSDORF, also known as PATRICK DONOHUERUDERSDORF SWANK, Defendant-Appellant

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE SECOND CIRCUIT LAHAINA DIVISION (CASE NO. 2DCW-XX-XXXXXXX)

MEMORANDUM OPINION (By: Leonard, Acting Chief Judge, Hiraoka and Wadsworth, JJ.)

On April 13, 2018, Patrick D. Rudersdorf was charged by complaint with two counts of Assault in the Third Degree in violation of Hawai#i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 707-712(1)(a) for assaulting two girls, K.W. and J.F., and one count of Harassment in violation of HRS § 711-1106(1)(a), of a third female named Ku#ulei. He pleaded not guilty. He was found guilty as charged after a jury-waived trial. He appeals from the "Judgment and Notice of Entry of Judgment" entered by the District Court of the Second Circuit, Lahaina Division, on March 29, 2019.1 We vacate and remand for a new trial. (1) Rudersdorf argues the complaint was defective because it was signed by a deputy prosecuting attorney instead of

1 The Honorable Kirstin M. Hamman presided. NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

a complainant, and was not supported by a declaration or affidavit, as required by HRS § 805-1. State v. Thompson, 150 Hawai#i 262, 269, 500 P.3d 447, 454 (2021). HRS § 805-1 did not apply because the complaint did not request a penal summons or an arrest warrant — Rudersdorf was arrested at the scene. State v. Mortensen-Young, 152 Hawai#i 385, 387, 526 P.3d 362, 364 (2023). The complaint was not defective. (2) Rudersdorf argues the trial court erred by admitting into evidence footage from Maui Police Department (MPD) officer Royce Takayama's body-worn camera. The evidence was offered by the State to rebut Rudersdorf's trial testimony. Rudersdorf argued the footage contained statements by him that were inadmissible because they were made while he was in custody and interrogated without being given a Miranda warning. We review de novo under the right/wrong standard. State v. Kazanas, 138 Hawai#i 23, 33, 375 P.3d 1261, 1271 (2016). Trial began on July 16, 2018. K.W., J.F., and Ku#ulei testified they were at Kā#anapali beach on March 26, 2018. K.W. found a bodyboard in the bushes. No one was around and nothing else was by it, so K.W. grabbed it and took it into the water for 15-20 minutes. She was sitting on the board on the beach with J.F. and Ku#ulei. Rudersdorf came up, yelling "that's my board." He pushed K.W. off the board. While K.W. was on the ground, Rudersdorf picked up the board and hit her in the face with it. He walked away. He came back asking where his leash was. He spit on Ku#ulei and called her a "fat bitch." He tried to grab J.F.'s phone out of her hand. J.F. put the phone behind her. Rudersdorf slapped J.F. in the face three times. Officer Takayama testified he responded to a call about a male harassing three females. While responding he was told that the male was hitting the females. The male was described as wearing an orange shirt and blue hat. He saw a male matching that description walking toward him with hotel security. He identified Rudersdorf as the male. As Officer Takayama was giving Rudersdorf the Miranda warning, Rudersdorf said he wanted

2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

to remain silent. Officer Takayama didn't complete the Miranda warnings because Rudersdorf interrupted, asking several times if he could leave. Officer Takayama "told him he wasn't free to leave because we're still investigating the case." Rudersdorf asked if the girls wanted to prosecute. Officer Takayama "told him that Officer Cleghorn was speaking to them right now." Rudersdorf "turned and took off running." Officer Takayama chased Rudersdorf for about 250 yards, handcuffed him, and placed him in the patrol car. MPD officer William Cleghorn testified he was called to the Kā#anapali Beach Hotel with Officer Takayama. He interviewed three girls. He walked to where Officer Takayama was standing with Rudersdorf. He took Rudersdorf's information. He went back to the girls. As he was talking to them he heard over his radio that Rudersdorf ran away from Officer Takayama, so he gave chase. Rudersdorf testified that he was vacationing on Maui with his family. They rented two cabanas from the hotel. His wife rented a boogie board. They were going to get lunch. He noticed three local girls inside the roped-off area who had been smoking what he thought was marijuana. There was no one else in the cabanas. He put the board under everything in the cabana, folded the top down, and left. They were gone for about an hour. The girls were gone when he returned. The board was also gone. He walked around to find it. He saw the girls under a tree with the board next to them. He asked for the board back. K.W. said, "fuck you haole, this is our board now. If you want it, come and get it." He retrieved the board after a "brief struggle." He denied shoving K.W. off the board and hitting her with it. He walked about 10 yards away, then noticed the leash was missing. He went back to ask if the girls had it. The girls became very aggressive and threatened him. He went to security, pointed out the girls, and said they'd stolen his property. K.W. tackled him. He was punched and kicked. He was in the water. The "waves were crashing in on -- or the waves were coming up." The girls were scratching his back, kicking him. He started

3 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

backpedaling and thought he was tackled a second time. The girls told him they were "going to come get you and your family." K.W. said she had a machete in her backpack and was going to "get" his kids. He went back to his family and said, "let's get outta here." Rudersdorf testified that when he was with Officer Takayama, he looked down the boardwalk and saw his family go right next to the three girls. He said he was scared because the girls had threatened his family and he didn't want his family to get hurt. Officer Takayama didn't respond. Rudersdorf asked Officer Takayama if he was under arrest, and was told he was not. Rudersdorf testified that he "took off sprinting" to his wife and kids because he "was scared for 'em." He saw the girls on their phones while they were being interviewed by the police, and was afraid they were calling their friends or gang members "to come get us." Rudersdorf testified on cross-examination:

I remember . . . Officer Cleghorn coming up and, ah, Officer Takayama saying something about him not wanting to make a statement and me saying that's not true.

And I tried to tell him what had happened and they would not listen to it. They said you -- you can't make a statement.

Q. Okay. And if I have both of their body cams and the videos of everything that transpired from their first intersection [sic] to when you ran, you're saying that those statements are going to be on these videos?

A. Yeah, I believe so. Q. Okay.

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State v. Thompson.
500 P.3d 447 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 2021)
State v. Skapinok.
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
548 P.3d 731, 154 Haw. 177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-rudersdorf-hawapp-2024.