Circuit judge overturns
1982 murder conviction

A procedural move raised
fairness issues in a jury's verdict

A former Arizona woman serving time in prison for killing two men during a six-day spree here and on the mainland could get a new trial in the Hawaii case because of procedural questions raised by lawyers, professors and law school students in California.

Circuit Judge Michael Town overturned the March 1982 murder conviction of Maryann Acker yesterday and granted her a new trial.

A jury found Acker guilty of second-degree murder for shooting Lawrence Hasker, 20, of Moiliili after robbing him. Acker and her husband, William, posing as her brother, had met Hasker at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Garden Bar on June 19, 1978. Hasker's body was discovered the next day on a brush-covered embankment at Hanauma Bay.

Now 45, Acker has served almost 23 years of the 30-year minimum sentence set by the Hawaii Paroling Authority.

She has been serving it at the same time with another life term she and her husband received earlier for killing Cesario Arauza in California just five days after Hasker's murder. Arauza apparently had given the hitchhiking couple a ride but was later robbed and killed and his car stolen.

Honolulu police only learned of the Ackers' involvement in the Hasker murder in March 1979 after William Acker was arrested in connection with Arauza's slaying and said he had information on the Hawaii case.

William Acker, the state's key witness in the Hasker shooting, blamed his wife for both murders. She testified he was responsible.

Town ruled that the state failed to provide evidence to Maryann Acker's defense of William Acker's correct sentence in the California murder -- information that could have affected the trial court's findings and enabled the defense to impeach his credibility more effectively.

Town said the failure to disclose the information appeared to be an "administrative oversight or glitch at best," but it did not relieve the Prosecutor's Office of its duty under state and federal law.

Prosecutors disagreed with Town's ruling, saying they were disappointed.

"We believe the court ignored the facts, ignored the law, and we believe the court will be reversed when we appeal this to the appellate courts," said deputy prosecutor Chris Van Marter.

David Klein, Acker's local counsel, called Town's decision a victory for Acker, whose parole in the California murder has been held up because of this case.

"Obviously we're very happy with the decision, and I'm sure when Maryann hears about it, she'll be thrilled," Klein said. "Given the state's posture that this will definitely be appealed, it doesn't sound like it's over at this point."

In exchange for William Acker's testimony against his wife, he was allowed to plead guilty to first-degree robbery and given immunity from other charges. He was sentenced to 20 years and served the term until he was released from state custody in September 2001.

Maryann Acker sought the assistance of the Post-Conviction Justice Project at the University of California School of Law, which filed a motion on her behalf five years ago seeking to overturn her conviction.

Michael Brennan, supervising attorney of the Post-Conviction Justice Project, who represented Acker on her motion for a new trial, argued in court documents that failure to disclose to the defense the actual sentence William Acker received in the California murder shifted blame for the Arauza murder to his wife -- raising his credibility in the eyes of the jury. It also prevented the defense from impeaching him about his bias and possible motives to lie when he testified against his wife in the Hawaii trial, Brennan contended.

Van Marter said the trial judge ruled at the time that William Acker's sentence in the California murder was not admissible at his wife's trial because it had no bearing on the outcome of the case or his credibility.