Opinion ID: 4222678
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Curioso’s Arrest and Preliminary Hearing

Text: Police arrested Curioso on March 10, 2017, for abuse of family or household members, HRS § 709-906 (2014 & Supp. 2016). On March 13, 2017, Curioso was charged by complaint in the District Court of the First Circuit (district court) with kidnapping, HRS § 707-720(1)(d) (2014), terroristic threatening in the first degree, HRS § 707-716(1)(e) (2014), and abuse of family or household members with a statutory enhancement to a class C felony based on the charged conduct, HRS § 709-906(1), (8). Bail was set at $150,000 in the aggregate, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 15, 2017. 7 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER On the day of the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor requested a continuance to March 21, 2017, to obtain a Tagalog interpreter for the complainant, for whom English was a second language. Curioso objected and moved for release on his own recognizance or, in the alternative, a reduction in bail. The court denied Curioso’s requests and granted the State’s motion for a continuance. The court explained that the State’s request was “reasonable” given that an interpreter was “necessary for the witness to give testimony” and the State was otherwise ready with its witnesses. The preliminary hearing was rescheduled by the court to March 21, 2017, which was six days after Curioso’s initial appearance.5 On March 16, 2017, Curioso filed a petition for a writ of mandamus.