STATE OF HAWAII,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
MIKE ANTUNEZ LOPEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
_______________________________
CASE NO. TR 43 OF 06/07/99
DISTRICT COURT OF THE
FIRST CIRCUIT
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDERUpon carefully reviewing the record and the briefs submitted by the parties and having given due consideration to the arguments advanced and the issues raised by the parties, we hold that the district court abused its discretion when it allowed the prosecution to reopen its case-in-chief to enable the prosecution to overcome Lopez's motion for judgment of acquittal under Hawaii Rules of Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule 29 by adducing further evidence of facts establishing defendant-appellant Mike Antunez Lopez's identification beyond a reasonable doubt. See State v. Kwak, 80 Hawaii 297, 909 P.2d 1112 (1995). Because the error contributed to Lopez's conviction for driving after license suspended or revoked for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes
(HRS) § 291-4.5 (1993), it was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See HRPP 52(a) (1999). Therefore,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the judgment from which the appeal is taken is reversed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, June 14, 2000.
On the briefs:
Hayden Aluli for defendant- appellant
Bryan K.Sano,Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, for plaintiff-appellee
RONALD T.Y. MOON, Chief Justice
STEVEN H. LEVINSON, Associate Justice
PAULA A. NAKAYAMA, Associate Justice
MARIO R. RAMIL, Associate Justice
SIMEON R. ACOBA, JR., Associate Justice