State v. Lapitan

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

LUM, C.J.

The question raised in this appeal is whether the District Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Family Court over a minor who is charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI). We conclude that the District Court has jurisdiction under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 571-41(f) and affirm the conviction.

I

On March 16, 1986, Defendant Peter B. Lapitan was arrested on a DUI charge in violation of HRS § 291-4. At that time, he was sixteen years old. Prior to trial, Defendant moved to dismiss the charge for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under HRS § 571-*456ll(…