Krause v. State

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
03-SEP-2025
08:02 AM
Dkt. 45 SO

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

CLAUDE LEE KEONE KRAUSE, Petitioner-Appellant, v.
STATE OF HAWAI#I, Respondent-Appellee

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT
(CASE NO. 3CPN-XX-XXXXXXX)

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Leonard, Presiding Judge, Hiraoka and McCullen, JJ.)

Claude Lee Keone Krause appeals from the Order Denying
Petitioner's Petition to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Judgment
or to Release Petitioner from Custody, entered by the Circuit
Court of the Third Circuit on July 20, 2023.1 We affirm.
On January 17, 2013, Krause was arrested by police on
suspicion of murder. On January 22, 2013, he was charged by
Complaint in the District Court of the Third Circuit, Puna
Division, with Murder in the Second Degree; Robbery in the First
Degree; Burglary in the First Degree; Theft in the Second Degree;
Carrying or Use of Firearm in the Commission of a Separate
Felony; and Ownership or Possession Prohibited (2 counts). He
waived preliminary hearing and was committed to the circuit court
for further proceedings. He pleaded guilty to Murder in the

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The Honorable Jeffrey A. Hawk presided.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Second Degree. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of
parole on December 9, 2014. He did not appeal.
Krause, representing himself, filed a Hawai#i Rules of
Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule 40 Petition to Vacate, Set Aside, or
Correct Judgment or to Release Petitioner From Custody on
August 25, 2022. Court-appointed counsel filed a supplement to
the Petition on October 13, 2022. The State of Hawai#i moved for
an extension of time to respond to the Petition. Krause moved
for an order declaring the State in default and granting the
Petition. The Circuit Court granted the State's motion. The
record does not contain an order on Krause's motion.
The Petition was heard on May 23, 2023. The Circuit
Court entered the Order, which denied the Petition and included
findings of fact and conclusions of law, on July 20, 2023. This
appeal followed.
Krause contends the Circuit Court erred because (1) the
State defaulted on its response to his Petition; (2) his defense
counsel were ineffective; and (3) the circuit court lacked
jurisdiction over him. We review an order denying an HRPP
Rule 40 petition de novo. Warner v. State, 151 Hawai#i 433, 437,
517 P.3d 716, 720 (2022).
(1) Krause argues his Petition should have been
granted because the State defaulted in responding. HRPP
Rule 40(d) allows the State to respond to a petition for post-
conviction relief within 30 days, but doesn't require a response
unless ordered by the Court. The Circuit Court's order granting
the State an extension of time to respond to Krause's Petition
was allowed by HRPP Rule 40(d), which allows the State to respond
"within such further time as the court may allow[.]"
Krause relies on Hawai#i Rules of Civil Procedure
(HRCP) Rule 55, about default of a party who fails to plead or
otherwise defend "as provided by these rules[.]" The HRCP apply
only to "suits of a civil nature[.]" HRCP Rule 1(a). HRCP
Rule 55 doesn't apply to HRPP Rule 40 petitions for post-
conviction relief. HRPP Rule 40 does not require or allow a

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

petition to be granted just because the State doesn't respond.
Krause's first point of error lacks merit.
(2) Krause argues his defense counsel were
ineffective. Krause waived this argument by failing to make it
before he pleaded guilty. Warner, 151 Hawai#i at 437, 517 P.3d
at 720. Even if it hadn't been waived, Krause's defense counsel
were not ineffective.
We review a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel
by looking at whether counsel's assistance was within the range
of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases. State v.
DeLeon, 131 Hawai#i 463, 478, 319 P.3d 382, 397 (2014). The
defendant must show two things: (1) there were specific errors or
omissions reflecting counsel's lack of skill, judgment, or
diligence; and (2) the errors or omissions resulted in either the
withdrawal or substantial impairment of a potentially meritorious
defense. Id. at 478-49, 319 P.3d at 397-98. Krause argues two
specific errors he claims demonstrate his counsels' lack of
skill, judgment, or diligence.
(a) Krause first argues that defense counsel failed to
move to dismiss the Complaint for failure to comply with Hawaii
Revised Statutes (HRS) § 805-1, citing State v. Thompson, 150
Hawai#i 262, 500 P.3d 447 (2021). Krause was arrested five days
before the Complaint was filed. "[B]ased on the plain language
of HRS § 805-1 and Thompson, the requirements of HRS § 805-1 do
not apply to complaints used to charge a defendant who has
already been arrested." State v. Mortensen-Young, 152 Hawai#i
385, 397, 526 P.3d 362, 374 (2023). Krause's counsel were not
ineffective for not moving to dismiss the Complaint.
(b) Krause next argues that defense counsel failed to
move to dismiss the Complaint under State v. Obrero, 151 Hawai#i
472, 517 P.3d 755 (2022). There, the supreme court held that a
defendant charged with second-degree murder could not be
prosecuted based on a complaint filed in district court. But
Obrero doesn't apply retroactively to a defendant who pled out
before 2022. State v. Bautista, 153 Hawai#i 284, 289, 535 P.3d

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

1029, 1034 (2023). Obrero does not apply here because Krause
pleaded guilty and was sentenced before Obrero was decided.
Krause's counsel were not ineffective for not moving to dismiss
the Complaint.
(3) Krause argues the State didn't file a complaint in
circuit court after his case was committed from district court,
which deprived the Circuit Court of jurisdiction over him.

No rule requires the State to file a second complaint
in circuit court. It's plain, "[a] complaint may be filed
in either the district or circuit court." HRPP Rule 7(h)(2)
(emphasis added). Also, there's no requirement in chapters
805 and 806, covering criminal procedure in district court
and circuit court, to refile a complaint after commitment
from district court.

Bautista, 153 Hawai#i at 290, 535 P.3d at 1035. Krause's third
point of error lacks merit.
The Circuit Court's July 20, 2023 Order Denying
Petitioner's Petition to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Judgment
or to Release Petitioner from Custody is affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, September 3, 2025.

On the briefs:
/s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Walter J. Rodby, Presiding Judge
for Petitioner-Appellant.
/s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
Patrick Muñoz, Associate Judge
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney,
County of Hawai#i, /s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen
for Respondent-Appellee. Associate Judge

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