Cooper v. Morikawa ( 2023 )

Electronically Filed
Supreme Court
SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX
23-OCT-2023
12:47 PM
Dkt. 7 ODDP
SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI
________________________________________________________________
SAMUEL COOPER, JR.,
Petitioner,
vs.
THE HONORABLE TRISH K. MORIKAWA,
Judge of the Circuit Court of the First Circuit,
State of Hawaiʻi, Respondent Judge,
and
STATE OF HAWAIʻI,
Respondent.
________________________________________________________________
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
(S.P.P. No. 1CPN-XX-XXXXXXX; CASE NO. 1PC990001708)
ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
(By: Recktenwald, C.J., McKenna, and Eddins, JJ.,
Circuit Judge Kim and Circuit Judge Watanabe,
assigned by reason of vacancies)
Upon consideration of the letter filed on September 29,
2023, which we construe as a petition for writ of mandamus, and
the record, the circuit court denied Petitioner’s Hawaiʻi Rules
of Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule 40 petition for post-conviction
relief by order filed on October 3, 2023. Petitioner has not
demonstrated a clear and indisputable right to relief, nor a
lack of alternative means to seek relief. See Kema v. Gaddis,
91 Hawaiʻi 200, 204, 982 P.2d 334, 338 (1999).
We also reject Petitioner’s assertion that the deputy
prosecuting attorney that filed a response to the HRPP Rule 40
petition should be sanctioned or otherwise disciplined.
Respondent State of Hawaiʻi is allowed to file a response that
objects to the arguments made in a HRPP Rule 40 petition. See
HRPP Rule 40(d) (“Within 30 days after service of the petition
or within such further time as the court may allow, the
respondent may answer or otherwise plead, but the court may
require the State to answer at any time.”).
It is ordered that the petition is denied.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, October 23, 2023.
/s/ Mark E. Recktenwald
/s/ Sabrina S. McKenna
/s/ Todd W. Eddins
/s/ Robert D.S. Kim
/s/ Kathleen N.A. Watanabe
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