State v. Stenger

Opinion of the Court by

ACOBA, J.

We hold that (1) Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant Angela Stenger (Petitioner) was entitled to a mistake of fact instruction under Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 702-218 (1993)1; (2) based on that holding, it would be inappropriate for the circuit court of the first circuit (the court)2 to also give a claim of right instruction pursuant to HRS § 708-834(1) (Supp.2002)3; (3) under the circumstances of this ease, first-degree theft by deception under HRS §§ 708-830(2) and 708-830.5(l)(a) (1993)4 is a continuing of*274fense, and thus, the court was right in rejecting…