IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAII
vs.
RONALD LOPES, Defendant-Appellant
and
REINHARD MOHR, Real Party in Interest-Appellant
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Moon, C.J., Levinson, Nakayama, Ramil, and Acoba, JJ.)
Real party in interest-appellant Reinhard Mohr (Mohr) appeals from the denial of his request for attorney's fees by the circuit court of the first circuit on grounds of untimeliness. Upon careful review of the record and the briefs submitted by the parties, the circuit court's disposition is affirmed. Apart from the question whether the deadline in Criminal Administrative Order (CAO) Rule 1.1 (1998) governs the instant request, the order in effect at the time that Mohr's claims arose, Criminal Division (HUD) Memo #21 (October 23, 1989), provided for the submission of billings "every one hundred and eighty (180) days after appointment and/or upon entry of an order or judgment reflecting final disposition of the case in Circuit Court." The "final disposition" corresponding to Mohr's request for fees incurred between January and October of 1991 is the judgment of the circuit court of January 7, 1992, from which no appeal was taken. Accordingly, notwithstanding the policy in favor of duly compensating court-appointed attorneys for their work, given the excessive and unreasonable delay in filing in this case, we hold that the circuit court did not err in denying Mohr's attorney's fees request.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, August 30, 2000.
On the briefs:
Reinhard Mohr, Real Party
in Interest-Appellant
Alexa D. M. Fujise, Deputy
Prosecuting Attorney, for
plaintiff-appellee