State v. Tolentino

Summary

The court held that Hawaiʻi constitutional protections and HRS § 621-26 require a pretrial evidentiary hearing to determine whether an inculpatory statement was voluntarily made before the statement reaches the factfinder. A hearsay exception, including the excited-utterance exception, cannot substitute for that hearing. Because Tolentino’s apology was admitted without the required hearing and the error was not harmless, the court vacated the conviction and remanded for a new trial.