State v. Abel.

Opinion of the Court by

POLLACK, J.

James Abel seeks review of his conviction for the offense of Solicitation With Animals in Waikiki Special District. We conclude that an element of this offense is the use of a live animal to request or demand money or gifts. As insufficient evidence was adduced at trial to prove this element of the offense, we reverse the Intermediate Court of Appeals’ (ICA) Judgment on Appeal and the District Court of the First Circuit’s (district court) judgment of conviction.

I. Background

On August 8, 2012, James Abel (Abel) was charged via complaint in district court with…