State high court upholds
manslaughter conviction
The state Supreme Court has upheld the manslaughter conviction of a man involved a fatal traffic accident on the Big Island.
Stephen St. Clair of Kona was convicted last summer in the death of Jane O'Brien of Santa Barbara, Calif.
St. Clair was driving with a blood-alcohol level of .211, nearly three times the legal limit when his van struck and killed O'Brien in front of a the historic Hale Halawai o Holualoa Church in Kailua-Kona Feb. 23, 2002, prosecutors said.
St. Clair had appealed his conviction, saying Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra shouldn't have allowed evidence of one of five prior drunk driving convictions in Canada admitted during trial.
He also claimed the prosecution committed misconduct by questioning a Canadian prosecutor about the convictions.
St. Clair was sentenced to 20 years in prison and received a minimum term of 15 years from the Hawaii Paroling Authority.