Uyesugi to appeal judge’s
ruling to bar videos
from court record

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By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Defense attorneys for convicted murderer Byran Uyesugi will appeal a judge's ruling prohibiting them from placing videotapes of the prosecution's opening statements and closing arguments on the court record.

Circuit Judge Marie Milks, who presided over the nearly monthlong trial last May, ruled yesterday that the videotapes, which came from media coverage of the proceedings, were not a fair and complete representation of what the state presented at trial.

She also noted that the jury had been instructed that the opening and closing statements were not evidence.

This was the first time Uyesugi has been away from Halawa Community Correctional Center, where he has been incarcerated since his sentencing last August to a life term without the possibility of parole.

Uyesugi, a copy machine repairman for Xerox, was convicted as charged last June for murdering seven co-workers in November 1999, the worst multiple slaying in Hawaii's history.

Clad in blue prison clothes and rubber slippers, Uyesugi made no statements during yesterday's proceedings, allowing his appellate attorneys to argue on his behalf.

The defense contends that the prosecution's PowerPoint presentations are "material" to the issues they expect to raise on appeal.

The defense has identified the PowerPoint presentation as the basis for their appeal but cannot argue it if it is not placed on record for the appellate justices to review, said deputy public defender Deborah Kim.

The defense believes that testimony from the victims' family members that were presented in the state's openings and closings and highlighted by the PowerPoint presentation were "unduly prejudicial" and improperly appealed to the emotions of jurors, she said.

The state opposed their request, saying the court had taken extraordinary measures to ensure Uyesugi had a fair trial.

Deputy Prosecutor Donn Fudo of the Appellate Division argued that the videotapes are interspersed with live media coverage and therefore do not accurately depict the state's presentations in court.

Uyesugi's trial attorneys did not object to the state's PowerPoint presentations, and the defense has not identified any comment by prosecutors that would constitute improper conduct, Fudo said.