State v. Palisbo

Opinion of the Court by

ACOBA, J.

We hold that under Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 708-836(3) (Supp.1998), which pertains to the unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, criminal liability attaches if the defendant failed to obtain consent to operate the vehicle from the vehicle’s owner. Thus, unlike the prior version of this statute, purported lack of knowledge that the vehicle was stolen does not absolve the defendant of a conviction and did not do so in this case. We also conclude that under the facts of this case, the circuit court of the first circuit (the court) properly refused…