State v. Cabagbag, 277 P.3d 1027

Cabagbag was convicted of Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle and Theft in the Second Degree based largely on Officer Tomimbang's eyewitness identification.
The trial court did not give a specific eyewitness identification cautionary instruction, and neither party requested one.
The ICA affirmed, ruling that the circuit court had discretion not to give a cautionary instruction because other trial conduct adequately directed attention to identification.
The Hawai`i Supreme Court adopted a new rule requiring a specific eyewitness identification instruction when identification is central and requested by the defendant, and authorized a model instruction.
The new rule was held to apply prospectively, not retroactively, affecting cases tried after the decision date.
The dissent would have required sua sponte instruction and retroactive application; the majority rejected that approach.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether failure to give an eyewitness instruction was plain error	Cabagbag argues the identification issue was central and required a cautionary instruction.	Cabagbag contends the instruction was required and omission was plain error; the trial record shows adequate focus otherwise.	Conviction affirmed; rule applied prospectively

Padilla v. State, 57 Haw. 150 (1976) (eyewitness identification discretion preserved; due process and totality of circumstances)
Pahio v. State, 58 Haw. 323 (1977) (eyewitness instruction discretion reaffirmed)
Okumura v. State, 78 Hawai`i 383 (1995) (summary of identification instruction approach and discretion)
Vinge v. State, 81 Hawai`i 309 (1996) (recognition of eyewitness identification concerns in jury instructions)
Perry v. New Hampshire, 132 S. Ct. 716 (2012) (due process did not require pretrial reliability inquiry where not law-enforcement orchestrated)
State v. Henderson, 208 N.J. 208 (2011) (enhanced identification instructions for cross-racial identifications)
State v. Stenger, 122 Hawai`i 271 (2010) (sua sponte instruction considerations in related context)