State v. Mitchell

KIRIMITSU, Judge.

The instant case 1 presents the issue of how a trial court should submit the statutory presumption contained in Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 708-801(4) (1993), see infra n. 9, to the jury without violating a defendant’s right to due process of law. We hold that, pursuant to Hawai'i Rules of Evidence (HRE) Rule 306 and relevant case law, a trial court must advise a jury that the statutory presumption contained in HRS § 708-801(4) is a permissive inference of fact and thus not binding upon the jury as factfinders, otherwise the defendant’s due process rights are violated.

I.…