In Judge Domingo’s courtroom, 14 cases continued in 1 day

A police officer was on vacation. Another was sick. Another was in training.

That’s why none of the officers were at court on a Wednesday in late April even though each was an important prosecution witness in separate driving-under-the-influence cases being heard that morning.

Because of their absences, the prosecutor asked Judge William Domingo to postpone the trial dates for all three cases. The judge did so, moving them to June.

The continuances triggered what is a common occurrence in District Court: Defendants, witnesses and others are told they have to return on another day, unsure whether the trial will be held then or pushed back even further.

The court system grapples with packed misdemeanor calendars on a daily basis, and DUI cases are among the most affected by congestion and continuances.

That was evident when the Honolulu Star-Advertiser spent that Wednesday morning in Domingo’s downtown courtroom on the 10th floor of the Judiciary building on Alakea Street.

Of the 15 cases on Domingo’s morning calendar, only one went to trial.

The other 14 were continued, at least seven at the request of prosecutors. In one of those the judge granted the prosecution a second continuance in a month because an officer was on vacation. Domingo told the prosecutor that the continuance would be his last for that case.

A month earlier another judge had granted the prosecution its first continuance. The reason was the same: The same officer was on vacation.

In three of the 14 continued cases, both sides were ready for trial, but the court couldn’t accommodate them that day because of a crowded docket. One went to trial the following week. The other two were rescheduled for late June.

The one case that went to trial required the testimony of two police officers, who were questioned about pulling over and doing a field sobriety test on the defendant, who had been seen swerving on a moped with a passenger aboard.

It’s not uncommon for prosecutors to require two, three or even more officers to testify for a single DUI case, depending on how many responded when the suspect was stopped, tested and arrested.

The trial ended in an acquittal.

The defendant had told police when she was pulled over that she had just had surgery for torn ligaments in one knee and needed the same operation for the other.

The woman, who police said smelled of alcohol and had glassy reddish eyes, fared poorly on a field sobriety test, which included walking heel-to-toe in a set pattern and balancing on one leg for 30 seconds.

But the defendant’s knee problems created reasonable doubt with the test results, Domingo said, finding her not guilty.