State v. Norton

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

LUM, CJ.

This court is called upon to reverse a criminal conviction for abuse of a family or household member, in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes § 709-906 (1985). The error claimed is that, in a bench trial, the judge’s ruling included a statement indicating that she was using an erroneous standard for the prosecution’s burden of proof. As appellate courts must be firmly convinced that the trial court used the correct standard, we reverse.

*297I.

Appellant and her boyfriend (now spouse), lived together at the time of the alleged abuse. When the police arrived, the…