08-15-2008, 07:59 AM
I just read Hunter Bishop's latest screed regarding the bar fight. Again, because Mr.Bishop won't post anything from me I'm posting this here. Regardless, following is a brief response regarding a couple of Mr. Hunter's comments:
Hunter -> "...even though he was not arrested, fingerprinted, photographed or anything else connected to the process that I always thought came before a person was formally charged with a crime..."
Me -> If you read the police report you'll find that Billy ran out the back door (seems to be somewhat suspicious behavior for an innocent man, but maybe he panicked) after acting in a threatening manner toward the security guard who tried to stop him (according to the security guard). Sooo, he made his escape and consequently the police physically couldn't arrest him at the scene of the crime, as they did his cohort, Mr. Hayward. As to why they didn't formally arrest him later, technically it isn't necessary, but that doesn't really answer the question does it?
Mr. Hunter also writes, based (as I understand him) on he fact that in this case a "Penal Summons" was issued as opposed to an Arrest Warrant: "The fact that he was "charged" with the crime by the alleged victims is hardly the same as being "charged" with a crime by the government, in my opinion."
Unfortunately, Mr. Hunter's "opinion" is wrong. Simply put, a Penal Summons is issued because the government wishes to arraign someone who is not already in their custody and who they feel will come in when summoned. Warrant, Summons, whatever, an Arraignment is where the formal charge is made and a plea is received. See http://hawaii.gov/ag/cpja/main/ccp/flowc...CAdult.pdf
Mr. Hunter's opinion not withstanding, a person can't be hauled into court on the whim of a complainant. For a Warrant or Summons to be issued a determination of the sufficiency of the complaint first has to be made, in this case by the Prosecutor's office. After that, the suspect is brought in and an Arraignment proceeding is held where the suspect is formally charged with the crime and enters a plea.
In this case, apparently Billy was arraigned (officially charged and a plea entered) and the case was bound over by a judge; otherwise it couldn't have been dropped 19 months later.
BTW, although the details aren't in the documents I've seen, apparently the police did pick up Billy, or he came in voluntarily, because, according to the police reports, he was identified as the assailant in a police lineup.
Finally, apparently the 2 witnesses that eventually came to Billy's defense did so about 19 months after the initial incident at Shooters. Hilo is a small town so it just seems odd to me that it took that long to round those witnesses up.
Anyway, it will be interesting to read ALL the documentation once Hunter puts it on his site.
Hunter -> "...even though he was not arrested, fingerprinted, photographed or anything else connected to the process that I always thought came before a person was formally charged with a crime..."
Me -> If you read the police report you'll find that Billy ran out the back door (seems to be somewhat suspicious behavior for an innocent man, but maybe he panicked) after acting in a threatening manner toward the security guard who tried to stop him (according to the security guard). Sooo, he made his escape and consequently the police physically couldn't arrest him at the scene of the crime, as they did his cohort, Mr. Hayward. As to why they didn't formally arrest him later, technically it isn't necessary, but that doesn't really answer the question does it?
Mr. Hunter also writes, based (as I understand him) on he fact that in this case a "Penal Summons" was issued as opposed to an Arrest Warrant: "The fact that he was "charged" with the crime by the alleged victims is hardly the same as being "charged" with a crime by the government, in my opinion."
Unfortunately, Mr. Hunter's "opinion" is wrong. Simply put, a Penal Summons is issued because the government wishes to arraign someone who is not already in their custody and who they feel will come in when summoned. Warrant, Summons, whatever, an Arraignment is where the formal charge is made and a plea is received. See http://hawaii.gov/ag/cpja/main/ccp/flowc...CAdult.pdf
Mr. Hunter's opinion not withstanding, a person can't be hauled into court on the whim of a complainant. For a Warrant or Summons to be issued a determination of the sufficiency of the complaint first has to be made, in this case by the Prosecutor's office. After that, the suspect is brought in and an Arraignment proceeding is held where the suspect is formally charged with the crime and enters a plea.
In this case, apparently Billy was arraigned (officially charged and a plea entered) and the case was bound over by a judge; otherwise it couldn't have been dropped 19 months later.
BTW, although the details aren't in the documents I've seen, apparently the police did pick up Billy, or he came in voluntarily, because, according to the police reports, he was identified as the assailant in a police lineup.
Finally, apparently the 2 witnesses that eventually came to Billy's defense did so about 19 months after the initial incident at Shooters. Hilo is a small town so it just seems odd to me that it took that long to round those witnesses up.
Anyway, it will be interesting to read ALL the documentation once Hunter puts it on his site.