State v. Cuntapay

Opinion of the Court by

ACOBA, J.

We granted certiorari herein and hold that under Article I, section 7 of the Hawai'i Constitution,1 a guest of a homedweller is entitled to a right of privacy while in his or her host’s home. Under the circumstances of this ease, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellee Reynaldo Cuntapay (Petitioner) had such a right. Insofar as a majority of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (the ICA) held on appeal that Petitioner had not demonstrated he had an expectation of such privacy and that such expectation was reasonable, it was incorrect. Thus, we reverse the Summary…