State v. Grace

Opinion of the Court by

LIM, J.

Ernest L. Grace, Sr. (Grace) appeals the June 13, 2003 judgment of the Family Court of the Third Circuit 1 that convicted him of abuse of a family or household member, a violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 709-906(1) (Supp.2004). 2 Because the family court admitted hearsay against Grace that violated bedrock Sixth Amendment confrontation clause 3 rights — as those rights were recently radically reinterpreted by the United States Supreme Court in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004) — and because the error was not…