Opinion
NO. CAAP-18-0000879
01-07-2021
EUGENE MIRONER AND EKATERINA MIRONER, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. JESSIE JAMES STEELE, Defendant-Appellant, and JOHN DOES 1-20 AND JANE DOES 1-10, Defendants
On the briefs: Jesse James Steele, Self-Represented Defendant-Appellant. Donna E. Richards, Mark R. Zenger, (Richards and Zenger) for Plaintiffs-Appellees.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI'I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
(CIVIL NO. 5RC-17-1-0699) SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Ginoza, Chief Judge, Leonard and Hiraoka, JJ.)
Defendant-Appellant Jesse James Steele (Steele) appeals from the Judgment for Possession and the Writ of Possession, filed on November 26, 2018, in the District Court of the Fifth Circuit (District Court).
The Honorable Joe P. Moss presided.
Upon careful review of the record and the briefs submitted by the parties and having given due consideration to the arguments advanced and the issues raised by the parties, we resolve Steele's point of error as follows:
Steele contends he is an "Internationally Protected Person under Geneva IV USC 18 §2441, a Hawaiian-Subject and a Tenant in Wainiha Ahupua'a Halele'a District on the Island of Kauai located within the Hawaiian Islands which is also known as the Sandwich Islands[,]" and that "[u]nder USC 28 §91 Hawai'i the State of Hawaii and United States of America has no Hawaiian Islands or Sandwich Islands to retain Jurisdiction over Internationally Protected Persons on Internationally Protected Property." We construe Steele's Opening Brief as challenging the District Court's jurisdiction over him in this action.
The District Court has "jurisdiction in ejectment proceedings where the title to real estate does not come in question at the trial of the action." Hawaii Revised Statutes § 604-6 (2016). The record on appeal does not indicate Steele contested title in the ejectment proceeding below. Therefore, the District Court had jurisdiction over the ejectment proceeding.
"Individuals claiming to be citizens of the Kingdom [of Hawai'i] and not of the State are not exempt from application of the State's laws." State v. Kaulia, 128 Hawai'i 479, 487, 291 P.3d 377, 385 (2013). "[W]e reaffirm that whatever may be said regarding the lawfulness of its origins, the State of Hawai'i is now, a lawful government." Id. (brackets, quotation marks, ellipsis, and citation omitted).
Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Judgment for Possession and the Writ of Possession, filed on November 26, 2018, in the District Court of the Fifth Circuit is affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai'i, January 7, 2021. On the briefs: Jesse James Steele, Self-Represented Defendant-Appellant. Donna E. Richards, Mark R. Zenger, (Richards and Zenger) for Plaintiffs-Appellees.
/s/ Lisa M. Ginoza
Chief Judge
/s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Associate Judge
/s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
Associate Judge