Repeated delays in 1 case shows inherent frustrations
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Court personnel provide colored wristbands to help manage the crowded hallway where victims, defendants and witnesses wait for trial-setting hearings each Monday in misdemeanor domestic abuse cases. Judges at the downtown District Court building decide which cases are ready for trial later in the week.
Judge Rowena Somerville had seen enough.
“This case is terrible,” she said in late April, scolding defendant Jonathan Wengler for not meeting with his public defender.
The botched meeting triggered yet another delay in a domestic violence case that now is a year old and has been continued more than half a dozen times.
Once, the case was pushed back because Wengler overslept, according to the judge.
“It seems as though, Mr. Wengler, you don’t care,” Somerville told him at the April hearing, ordering the defendant to return to her courtroom every Monday — or risk arrest — until he met with his attorney. “I’m not going to have this continued any further.”
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The next Monday, Wengler, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of physically abusing a woman in May 2017, told the judge he still hadn’t met with his public defender. She ordered him back the following week, and by then Wengler had kept the appointment. His trial was scheduled for this week.
The Wengler case was just one of several dozen misdemeanor abuse cases that Somerville heard that Monday morning in late April. Of the 27 that were placed on her calendar for setting of trial dates, 18 were continued at least a month, including 10 because the prosecution wasn’t ready. The defense requested the other eight continuances, usually because the lawyers needed more time to consult with the defendant.
A defendant whose behavior, including oversleeping, contributed to multiple delays in a misdemeanor domestic abuse case got a scolding from the judge.
>> June 13, 2017: Jonathan P. Wengler pleads not guilty to misdemeanor abuse of a family or household member.
>> June 19: Wengler request jury trial. Court sets trial call for July, meaning trial could be later that week.
>> July 17: Defense requests continuance, lawyer has not been in contact with defendant. New date: Aug. 14
>> Aug. 14: Both sides ready for trial, but court can’t get to it, reschedules for next day.
>> Aug. 15: Defendant not present, court considers arrest warrant, sets next hearing Sept. 11
>> Sept. 11: Defendant present, court sets trial call for Oct. 9
>> Oct. 9: Both sides ready, court orders parties to return next morning
>> Oct. 10: Case continues to Nov. 6 due to court congestion
>> Nov. 6: Both sides ready, court orders parties to return next morning
>> Nov. 7: Both sides ready, but court can’t get to trial due to congested docket. New date: Dec. 4. Witnesses ordered to return.
>> Dec. 4: Defense requests continuance, granted to Jan. 2, 2018
>> Jan. 2, 2018: Defendant not present, court issues warrant for arrest
>> Feb. 28: Defendant not present, defense requests continuance, granted to March 12
>> March 12: Court reschedules case to April 23 to be considered with another one of Wengler’s
>> April 23: State not ready because victim not served with summons. Judge scolds defendant for not meeting with his public defender, orders Wengler back to court each Monday until he sees his lawyer
>> April 30: Defendant still hasn’t met his attorney, ordered back to court May 7
>> May 7: Defendant has met with attorney, court sets trial call for June 18
Source: Court minutes
The prosecution sought the delays mostly because the victims were not there. Some had not been served subpoenas, while other victims were served but failed to show up.
Each time one side requested a continuance, the other side objected, part of a strategic dance that typically unfolds as the cases advance. In most instances, Somerville granted the requests. In one case she dismissed charges against a defendant after the prosecution, which had received two prior continuances, said it wasn’t ready to go to trial.
Another case couldn’t proceed because the defendant failed to appear, prompting the issuing of an arrest warrant. The delay meant the five prosecution witnesses who were there had to return to court, likely more than once.
Monday mornings typically are busy on the eighth floor of the District Court building downtown because dozens of abuse cases are placed on the calendar, many so judges can determine which ones will go to trial later in the week. The narrow hallway outside the courtrooms usually is crowded with victims, defendants, witnesses and lawyers.
Jeen Kwak, a deputy prosecutor, said she started doing misdemeanor abuse cases in Honolulu about 20 years ago when three judges presided over the proceedings in three courtrooms.
The number of judges and courtrooms for such cases remains unchanged today.
