Territory of Hawaii v. Soga

20 Haw. 71, 1910 Haw. LEXIS 58
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 5, 1910
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 20 Haw. 71 (Territory of Hawaii v. Soga) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Territory of Hawaii v. Soga, 20 Haw. 71, 1910 Haw. LEXIS 58 (haw 1910).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

HARTWELL, C. J.

The defendants were arrested upon the sworn complaint of the high sheriff that on January 13, 1909, in the City and County of Honolulu, they unlawfully, maliciously and fraudulently combined and mutually undertook and concerted together and with other persons whose names were to the affiant unknown “to do what plainly and directly tended to incite and occasion offense and to do what was obviously and directly injurious to another” by conspiring to prevent certain corporations owning sugar .plantations in the County of Honolulu from carrying on their business and operating their plantations by intimidating and threatening violence against, and instigating others to intimidate and threaten violence against, and inciting and instigating assaults and batteries upon, all Japanese in the City and County of Honolulu who opposed or should oppose an immediate demand being made by the Japanese laborers upon said plántations for increase of wages and a strike by such Japanese laborers as were refused the demand and upon all Japanese in the city and county who should attempt to persuade any Japanese laborers who should be refused such demand from leaving the employment of the corporations and refusing to con[73]*73tinue or renew it, and by intimidation, threats of violence and instigating and inciting others to intimidate and threaten violence and by inciting and instigating assaults and batteries upon all Japanese laborers upon said plantations who should continue to work for them after being notified by the defendants and their co-conspirators to cease and refuse working (for them) and conspiring by similar means to boycott financially and ostracize socially all Japanese who should refuse to join in said unlawful, malicious and fraudulent combination or to use or assist in using or promoting the use by others of the said indirect, sinister and unlawful methods and means for carrying out the said combination and plan and thereby, at the time and place aforesaid, unlawfully, maliciously and fraudulently to prevent the said corporations from exercising their trade or business and them to impoverish contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided.

June 14, 1909, the defendants were taken before the first judge of the first circuit court sitting as a committing magistrate, and, demanding a jury trial, were arraigned upon the charge of conspiracy. At the defendants’ request the cause was continued until the following day in order to arrange for bonds, etc. On June 19 the defendants asked that “the matter of plea be continued until Monday, June 21, and, the request being denied, objected to the proceeding on the ground that they had not been indicted, which objection was overruled. The defendants then entered a plea of not guilty and moved for a continuance until the 1910 term, which was denied. The bill of exceptions sets forth that on June 19 the defendants moved that the cause be continued for plea until June 21, 1909, and excepted to the denial of their motion. The cause was set down for trial for June 21, at which day City and County Attorney Cathcart appeared for the Territory, Messrs. Kinney, Ballou, Prosser and Anderson assisting the prosecution. The defendants objected to counsel being employed for the prose[74]*74cution and excepted to the overruling of their objection. On July 19 a jury was impaneled to try the canse. After the complaint was read to the jury by counsel for the prosecution and a statement made of what the prosecution expected to prove the defendants moved that they be discharged on the ground that the facts stated, if proven, .would not constitute the offense charged and excepted to the denial of the motion.

After a trial occupying twenty-one days the jury rendered a verdict of “guilty of conspiracy in the third degree as charged,” to which the defendants excepted as contrary to law, evidence and weight of evidence, giving notice of motion for new trial. They then moved in arrest on the grounds that the court was without jurisdiction under the fifth amendment that “no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury;” or the sixth amendment providing for trial by an impartial jury, and the third article of the constitution that “the trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury;” or under Sec. 83 of the Organic Act that “no person shall be convicted in any criminal case except by unanimous verdict of the jury;” or under the sixth amendment that “in all criminal proceedings the accused shall enjoy the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;” or the fifth amendment that “no person shall be compelled in ány criminal case to be a witness against himself;” or the fourth amendment requiring “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures;” or under the third article of the treaty with Japan that “The dwellings, manufactories, warehouses, and shops of the citizens or subjects of each of the High Contracting Par ties in the territories of the other, and all premises appertaining thereto destined for the purposes of residence or commerce, shall be respected. It shall not be allowable to proceed to make ■a search of, or a domiciliary visit to, such dwellings and prem[75]*75isos, or to examine or inspect books, papers, or accounts, except under the conditions and with the forms prescribed by the laws, ordinances and regulations for citizens or subjects of the country;” or under the fourteenth amendment that “no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws;” and because evidence was improperly received and excluded; for error in certain instructions, and because the verdict was contrary to law, evidence and weight of evidence. The defendants excepted to the overruling’ of their motion in arrest and the court sentenced 'each defendant to imprisonment without hard labor in Honolulu jail for ten months and a fine of $300 and one-fourth of the costs. The defendants then filed a motion for a new trial and excepted to its denial.

The exception to allowing private counsel to assist in the prosecution is overruled (Territory v. Chong Chak Lai, 19 Haw. 437; Territory v. Robello, ante p. 7,) together with the exceptions to refusing a continuance of -the two days to plead and denying the motion to discharge the defendants on the ground that the facts stated by the prosecution in its opening remarks to the jury would not constitute the offense charged.

Before referring to the exceptions to rulings upon evidence and instructions we will consider whether the evidence which went to the jury showed that the defendants had concerted together to secure higher wages for Japanese laborers by any.of the unlawful methods charged in the complaint, for if there was such evidence the exception to the verdict and refusal of new trial could not be sustained unless there was prejudicial error in the rulings during the trial, in the absence of which the verdict would stand subject only to the motion in arrest of judgment. It is unnecessary to cite the numerous decisions that in determining whether a verdict is sustained by the evidence this court does not consider the sufficiency or credibility [76]

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Bluebook (online)
20 Haw. 71, 1910 Haw. LEXIS 58, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/territory-of-hawaii-v-soga-haw-1910.