Case Title: State v. McGovern

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: hawaii

Court: Hawaii Supreme Court

Date: 2005-07-11T00:00:00Z

Document:
*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***
—

NO. 26476

  

oats

 
 

STATE OF HAWAI'I, Plaintiff-appellee,
vs.
JOHN McGOVERN, Defendant -Appellant.

SSS

APPEAL FROM THE THIRD CIRCUIT COURT
(CR. NO. 02-1-195)
(2y: Moon, C.J., Levinson, Nakayama, Acoba, and Duffy, JJ.)
Defendant-appellant John MeGovern appeals from the

March 1, 2004 judgment of conviction and sentence of the Circuit
Court of the Third Circuit, the Honorable Judge Terence 7.
Yoshioka presiding, resulting from a jury verdict finding
McGovern guilty of murder in the first degree, in violation of
Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 707-701(1) (a) (1993), carrying
oF use of a firearm in commission of a separate felony, in
violation of HRS § 124-6(a) (Supp. 1999), and unauthorized
control of propelled vehicle, in violation of HRS § 708-836
(Supp. 2001). on appeal, McGovern alleges the circuit court:
(2) erred by refusing to give requested jury instructions

regarding criminal conspiracy, criminal solicitation, and

 

evaluating accomplice testimony; and (2) improperly denied

McGovern’s motion to di

 

miss Count IV, carrying or use of a
*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***

firearm in comission of a separate felony, {hereinafter, the
firearm charge].

upon 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

 

resolve McGovern’s contentions as follows

(2) The circuit court did not err in refusing to
instruct the jury on criminal conspiracy and solicitation to
commit murder in the first degree because McGovern was convicted
of the charged offense of murder in the firat degree, thereby
rendering the circuit court’s failure to instruct on criminal
conspiracy and solicitation harmless. See State v, Haanic, 94
Hawai'i 405, 425, 16 P.3d 246, 256 (2001). Further, the circuit
court did not err in refusing to give standard jury instruction
6.01A regarding accomplice testimony because the jury, having
been given standard jury instruction 3.09, was sufficiently
alerted to the factors it needed to consider in determining the
credibility and motivation of the testimony of McGovern’s
accomplice via opening statements, evidence presented to the
jury, cross-examination, and closing arguments. See State v.
‘Okumura 78 Hawai'i 383, 408, 694 P.2d 80, 105 (1995).

(2) The circuit court properly denied MeGovern's
motion to dismiss the firearm charge because the indictment, when
read together with the other charges of murder in the first and

second degree, adequately informed McGovern of the nature of the
*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***
Ss

cause of action against him. See HRS § 806-31 (1993); Hawai'i
Rules of Penal Procedure Rule 7(d) (2001); gee alao State v,
Israel, 78 Hawai'i 66, 70-75, 890 P.2d 303, 307-312 (1995); State
w.Sprattling, 99 Hawai'i 312, 318-19, 55 P.3d 276, 262-83
(2002). Therefore,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the circuit court’s March 1,
2004 judgment of conviction and sentence is affirmed.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai'i, July 22, 2005.

on the briefe:

Keith s. shigetom, Gre —

for defendant-appellant

Jack N. Mateukawa, Ronse

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Nese 2 ane

for plaintiff-appellee

Vane Didi