State v. Vaimili.

Opinion of the Court by

McKENNA, J.

I.Introduction

This case arises from Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant Joseph Vaimili’s (“Vaimi-li[’s]”) convictions for sex trafficking related crimes based on his conduct as a pimp for the complaining witness (“CW”) who came to Hawaifi to work as a prostitute during the 2009 Pro Bowl.

In brief summary, at his trial, Vaimili was present for voir dire and jury selection; however, he failed to appear in court two days later despite being instructed to do so. The trial was continued two times over the course of one month, first for five days, at which time the…