State v. Kupau

LEVINSON, Justice.

On June 13, 1990, a Honolulu grand jury returned an indictment against the respondent-appellant Walter Kupau, Jr., charging him with having intentionally or knowingly caused substantial bodily injury to James Rockwell on or about September 6, 1988, thereby committing the offense of assault in the second degree in violation of Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 707 — 711(l)(a) (Supp.1992).1 A jury subsequently found Kupau guilty as charged, and the circuit court sentenced him to probation for a term of five years.

Kupau appealed his conviction and sentence, claiming, inter alia,…