State v. Oyama

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI'I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

February 3,

Under the Influence of an Intoxicant

Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS)
2008)

NO. 29694

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

m2

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I =| =
rete

STATE OF HAWAI‘I, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. =

MARK OYAMA, Defendant-Appellant —

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE FIFTH CIRCULP O

(CASE NO. 5DTA-08-00218) a\ -

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Fujise and Leonard, JJ., with
Nakamura, C.J., concurring separately)

Defendant-Appellant Mark Oyama

(Oyama) appeals from the
2009 judgment of conviction for Operating a Vehicle

(OVUII) in violation of

§ 291E-61(a) (1) and/or (3)

(Supp.
and sentenced pursuant to HRS § 291E-61(b) (2)

(Supp. 2008)

as a highly intoxicated driver entered by the District Court of

the Fifth Circuit

advanced, applicable law,

light of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court's opinion in State v. Wheeler,
121 Hawai‘i 383, 219 P.3d 1170

(district court) .?
After a careful review of the issue raised, arguments

and the record in the instant case, in

(2009), which held that the

failure of the charge to allege that the offense took place on a

public way, street,

road, or highway rendered the charge fatally

defective, the complaint in this case, which also lacked this
allegation, was deficient. Wheeler, 121 Hawai‘i at 393, 219 P.3d
at 1180.

A charge that is fatally defective is a nullity and

deprives the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction over the

prosecution.

1109,

been raised by the parties,

State v. Cummings,
1115 (2003).

101 Hawai‘i 139, 145, 63 P.3d

Although the issue of jurisdiction has not

the court will nevertheless address

1

The Honorable Trudy K. Senda presided.

“U4

*
ae

a

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI'I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

the issue "for unless jurisdiction of the court over the subject
matter exists, any judgment rendered is invalid." Meyer v.

Territory, 36 Haw. 75, 78 (Haw. Terr. 1942), quoted with approval
in In re Application of Rice, 68 Haw. 334, 335, 713 P.2d 426, 427

(1986); see also Tamashiro v. Dep't of Human Servs., State of

Hawai'i, 112 Hawai'i 388, 398, 146 P.3d 103, 113 (2006).

We do not reach the issue raised by Oyama on appeal.
The disposition of this appeal on the issue of jurisdiction of
the district court limits our consideration of the appeal to the

correction of the jurisdiction issue. In re Application of Rice,

68 Haw. at 335, 713 P.3d at 427 ("{T]hough a [district] court is
found to have lacked jurisdiction, we have jurisdiction here on
appeal, not of the merits, but for the purpose of correcting an
error in jurisdiction.") (internal quotation marks and citation
omitted) .

Accordingly, we vacate the February 3, 2009 judgment of
conviction of the District Court of the Fifth Circuit and remand
for dismissal of the OVUII charge without prejudice.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai‘i, June 24, 2010.

On the briefs:

Mark R. Zenger, natin Preise

for Defendant-Appellant. Associate Judge

Tracy Murakami,

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney,
County of Kauai,

for Plaintiff-Appellee.

‘

Agsociate Judge