Posted on: Thursday, March 17, 2005

Ruling strikes down warrantless arrests

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Hawai'i Supreme Court has upheld the 2003 conviction of a lap dancer for prostitution but ruled that her warrantless arrest was unlawful.

In its opinion on Mary Ann Keawe's appeal, the court noted Tuesday that it is unlawful for police to wait a significant amount of time before making an arrest when they have probable cause and there are no obstacles to the arrest.

Even as it criticized the manner in which she was arrested, the court said "there was substantial evidence to support the district court's conclusion that Keawe had violated" the law.

On July 25, 2002, Keawe solicited and accepted $80 for performing two nude "lap dances" on an undercover police officer at the Hawai'i By Night club, according to the court ruling.

The officer did not arrest Keawe, known at the time to him only as "Victoria," but noted her acts in a police report. It was not until the next month, during an Aug. 14 raid on the club, that Keawe was arrested in connection with the July offenses, according to the opinion.

Attorney William Harrison, who represented Keawe, called the Supreme Court's statements about warrantless arrests "a victory for citizens."

Harrison said Keawe was at a "distinct disadvantage" in remembering facts to defend herself on charges based on an encounter that took place 20 days before she was arrested.

If police had probable cause to arrest her, she should have been arrested July 25 or police should have obtained a warrant, which would have required them to show probable cause to a judge, he said.

He said police photographed Keawe and other dancers arrested in the raid and learned their real names when they were booked and questioned.

Keawe was convicted of a petty misdemeanor. Warrantless arrests, such as Keawe's, have become common in misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor cases, especially those involving lap dancers, said Harrison.

Keawe's was a test case, noted Harrison, who has stayed 150 other similar cases until the court rendered an opinion on warrantless arrests.

"We plan to file motions to suppress evidence obtained after illegal arrests," Harrison said of the pending cases.