Court Opinion

ID: 9571493
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:32:11.372646+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:30:29.480658
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION OF
LEVINSON, J.
I dissent.
The appellant’s right to a trial by jury in the instant case is a fundamental right guaranteed by the sixth and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145 (1968), and by article I, section 11 of the Hawaii Constitution. As such, the question of effective waiver should be resolved in accordance with the rule which this court set out in State v. Casey, 51 Haw. 99, 100-101, 451 P.2d 806, 808-809 (1969), relating to the waiver of the right of confrontation:
This right... is one of the fundamental personal rights guaranteed to an accused both in the constitution of the State of Hawaii and the United States Constitution. Such right may be waived. Diaz v. United States, 223 U.S. 442, 450 (1912). But waiver is never presumed. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464 (1938). For an effective waiver, there must be express and intelligent consent on the part of the accused. Patton v. United States, 281 U.S. 276, 312 (1930). Whether there has been such waiver should be determined by the trial court upon penetrating and comprehensive examination. Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U.S. 708, 723 (1948). That the accused waived his right with full understanding of the nature of his action must appear of record. Johnson v. Zerbst, supra; Von Moltke v. Gillies, supra. Presuming waiver from a silent record is not permissible. Carnley v. Cochran, 369 U.S. 506, 516 (1962).
Here, the waiver, if it is effective at all, must stand on counsel’s action, not on any action of appellant. Before approving the stipulation, the court did not inquire of appellant whether she authorized or acquiesced in it, or understood its import. . . .
There are cases which sanction defense counsel’s *556waiver of certain aspects of the right . . . , where such waiver is considered as a matter of trial tactics and procedure. [Citations omitted.]
But where a waiver goes beyond the bounds of trial tactics and procedure, and impinges significantly on constitutionally guaranteed right, it must be the personal action of the beneficiary of the right.
See also, Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (1969).1
Of course, every trial decision, which involves the exercise of judgment, is in a sense “a matter of trial tactics and procedure.” The significant inquiry under Casey is whether the waiver at issue impinges significantly on a constitutionally guaranteed right. Construed in this light, the decision “[w]hether to be tried by a jury is an important matter to be decided by the defendant; it is not merely a tactical decision which may be left to defense counsel.” American Bar Association Project on Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to Trial by Jury, commentary to Standard 1.2(b) (Approved Draft, 1968), at 38.
To me, it is beyond dispute that H.R.Cr.P. Rule 23(a) would proscribe a written waiver by counsel of a defendant’s right to a jury trial. It defies logic to hold that counsel may accomplish orally what he may not by the written word.
I would reverse the judgment of the circuit court and remand for a new trial.

The reasoning underlying the majority’s attempt to distinguish the mandate of the Boykin decision has been rejected in the American Bar Association Project on Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to Trial by Jury (Approved Draft, 1968). Standard 1.2, entitled “Waiver of trial by jury,” provides in pertinent part:
(a) Cases required to be tried by jury should be so tried unless jury trial is waived.
(b) The court should not accept a waiver unless the defendant, after being advised by the court of his right to trial by jury, personally waives his right to trial by jury, either in writing or in open court for the record. (Emphasis added.)
The commentary to Standard 1.2(b) recognizes, at 38, that the requirement of personal waiver “parallels the requirement in guilty plea cases.”