CHILD ABUSE
CHILD WITNESSES
State v. Kiese, 273 P.3d 1180 (Haw. 2012). Prosecutor’s questioning of child in criminal child harassment case did not constitute reversible error. Though improper for leading on direct and asserting his own personal knowledge, prosecutor’s questioning was not intended to and did not enter different information into evidence that would have changed the result trial result. It was simply an attempt to elicit testimony from a six year old with limited verbal skills.
DEPENDENCY
RELATIVE PLACEMENTS
In re A.S., 312 P.3d 1193 (Haw. 2013). Trial court properly found that remaining with foster parents rather than moving to aunt’s home was in child’s best interests. Child had spent most of her life with them, would better be able to continue to see extended family, and testimony indicated it would harm her psychologically to move. Though statutes provide for relative preference, this was not improperly ignored by the court as the aunt had been considered but earlier decisions had been made to keep the child in the foster home due to aunt’s pending divorce and continued reunification efforts with father.