Criminal Appeal Brief

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
2. Table of Authorities
3. Statement of Jurisdiction
4. Issues Presented for Review
5. Statement of the Case
6. Statement of Facts
7. Standard of Review
8. Argument
9. Conclusion
10. Certificate of Compliance
11. Certificate of Service

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAII

OPENING BRIEF OF DEFENDANT-APPELLANT

Attorney for Defendant-Appellant:

[________________________________]
Hawaii Bar No. [________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Hawaii [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

I. STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

This appeal is taken from a final judgment of conviction and sentence entered on [__/__/____] in the Circuit Court of the [________________________________] Circuit, State of Hawaii, the Honorable [________________________________] presiding. The Intermediate Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to HRS § 602-57(1) and HRS § 641-11.

Defendant-Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on [__/__/____].

☐ The notice of appeal was filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from (HRAP Rule 4(b)(1)).
☐ A motion for new trial was filed on [__/__/____] and ruled upon on [__/__/____]; the notice of appeal was timely filed.

II. ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW

1. Whether the trial court erred in [________________________________].

2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for [________________________________].

3. Whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by [________________________________].

4. [________________________________]

III. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On or about [__/__/____], an ☐ indictment / ☐ complaint / ☐ information was filed in the Circuit Court of the [________________________________] Circuit, State of Hawaii, charging Defendant-Appellant with:

[Summarize significant pretrial proceedings, motions, and rulings.]

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], the case proceeded to ☐ jury trial / ☐ bench trial / ☐ the defendant entered a plea of ☐ guilty / ☐ no contest.

On [__/__/____], the jury returned a verdict of:

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], the trial court sentenced Defendant-Appellant to:

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____]; R. [____].)

IV. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Prosecution's Case

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____].)

B. Defense Case

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____].)

V. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Issue 1: [________________________________]

☐ De novo / right-wrong review applies to questions of law, including statutory interpretation and constitutional questions. (State v. Kalaola, 124 Haw. 43, 237 P.3d 1109 (2010).)

☐ Abuse of discretion applies to the trial court's discretionary rulings, including evidentiary matters and sentencing. (State v. Crisostomo, 94 Haw. 282, 12 P.3d 873 (2000).)

☐ Sufficiency of the evidence — viewing the evidence in the strongest light for the prosecution, there must be substantial evidence to support the conclusion that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. (State v. Richie, 88 Haw. 19, 960 P.2d 1227 (1998).)

☐ Plain error review applies under HRAP Rule 28(b)(4) when no objection was made below. The appellate court may notice errors not brought to the attention of the trial court where the interests of justice so require.

Issue 2: [________________________________]

VI. ARGUMENT

A. [ISSUE ONE HEADING]

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____]; R. [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice

☐ Under Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967), the constitutional error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because [________________________________].

☐ Under State v. Pauline, 100 Haw. 356, 60 P.3d 306 (2002), the error was not harmless because there is a reasonable possibility that the error contributed to the conviction.

B. [ISSUE TWO HEADING]

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(Tr. [____]; R. [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice

[________________________________]

C. [ADDITIONAL ISSUES AS NEEDED]

[________________________________]

VII. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Defendant-Appellant respectfully requests that this Court:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction.
☐ Reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial.
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.
☐ Modify the judgment as follows: [________________________________].
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

Pursuant to HRAP Rule 28(g), I certify that this brief contains [________________________________] words / [________________________________] pages, as counted by [________________________________] word-processing program. This brief does not exceed the 12,500-word / 35-page limit for opening briefs.

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], hereby certify that on [__/__/____], I served the foregoing Opening Brief of Defendant-Appellant on the following parties by the method indicated:

☐ U.S. Mail, first-class, postage prepaid
☐ Electronic filing via JEFS (Judiciary Electronic Filing System)
☐ Hand delivery

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES FOR HAWAII

1. Notice of Appeal Deadline: Must be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from (HRAP Rule 4(b)(1)).

2. Page/Word Limit: Opening and answering briefs may not exceed 35 pages or 12,500 words; reply briefs may not exceed 15 pages (HRAP Rule 28(g)).

3. Appellant's Brief Due: Within 40 days after the record on appeal is filed (HRAP Rule 28(b)).

4. Appellee's Brief Due: Within 40 days after service of the opening brief.

5. Reply Brief Due: Within 14 days after service of the answering brief.

6. Statement of Jurisdiction: Must be filed within 10 days after the record on appeal is filed (HRAP Rule 12.1).

7. Anders Brief: When appointed counsel finds no meritorious issues, counsel must comply with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

8. HRPP Rule 40: Post-conviction claims, including ineffective assistance of counsel based on matters outside the record, are raised through Hawaii Rules of Penal Procedure Rule 40.

9. Preservation: HRAP Rule 28(b)(4) requires that the opening brief state where in the record the alleged error was objected to or brought to the attention of the court. Plain error may be noticed under HRAP Rule 28(b)(4).