It will be another three weeks before a court hearing is held about the online petition to impeach Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro.
In the meantime, unless Hawai‘i’s Supreme Court decides otherwise, Kaneshiro will remain in office.
The chair of the Honolulu Police Commission says that’s wrong.
Loretta Sheehan is a former deputy prosecutor for Honolulu who has also served as an assistant U.S. Attorney.
She says Kaneshiro’s power adds a conflict of interest to a number of cases, including some that touch on the corruption case involving former police chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, former city prosecutor Katherine Kealoha.
Sheehan says one example is that of accused drug dealer Tiffany Matsunaga, named as a co-conspirator in the Kealoha case—illustrating a much broader problem.
State Attorney General Clare Connors has asked Hawai‘i’s Supreme Court to suspend Kaneshiro’s law license, which would force him to at least temporarily step down from his position as prosecuting attorney.
You can listen to Commissioner Sheehan's full interview with The Conversation's Catherine Cruz in the link below.
