Williams v. Rouse

• Court: Hawaii Supreme Court
• Decided: September 19, 2022
• Docket: SCPW-22-0000463
• Status: Published

Opinion

Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX 19-SEP-2022 08:38 AM Dkt. 7 ODDP

SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

AARON WILLIAMS, Petitioner,

vs.

THE HONORABLE JAMES R. ROUSE, Judge of the Family Court of the Second Circuit, State of Hawai#i, Respondent Judge,

and

ALENA WILLIAMS, Respondent.

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING (CASE NO. 2DV211000420)

ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS OR PROHIBITION (By: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna, Wilson, and Eddins, JJ.)

Upon consideration of Petitioner’s petition for a writ

of mandamus or prohibition, filed on July 29, 2022, the documents

attached and submitted in support, and the record, Petitioner has

not demonstrated a clear and indisputable right to relief.

Petitioner has also not demonstrated that the respondent judge

exceeded the court’s jurisdiction, committed a flagrant and

manifest abuse of discretion, or refused to act on a matter

properly before the court under circumstances in which the judge has a legal duty to act. Petitioner is thus not entitled to the

requested extraordinary writs. See Kema v. Gaddis, 91 Hawai#i

200, 204, 982 P.2d 334, 338 (1999) (explaining that a writ of

mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that will not issue unless

the petitioner demonstrates a clear and indisputable right to

relief and a lack of alternative means to redress adequately the

alleged wrong or obtain the requested action; such a writ is

meant to restrain a judge who has exceeded the judge’s

jurisdiction, has committed a flagrant and manifest abuse of

discretion, or has refused to act on a subject properly before

the court under circumstances in which the judge has a legal duty

to act); Honolulu Advertiser, Inc. v. Takao, 59 Haw. 237, 241,

580 P.2d 58, 62 (1978) (a writ of prohibition “is an

extraordinary remedy . . . to restrain a judge of an inferior

court from acting beyond or in excess of [their] jurisdiction”).

Accordingly,

It is ordered that the petition for a writ of mandamus

or prohibition is denied.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, September 19, 2022.

/s/ Mark E. Recktenwald

/s/ Paula A. Nakayama

/s/ Sabrina S. McKenna

/s/ Michael D. Wilson

/s/ Todd W. Eddins