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An ethics complaint filed by former city Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Takata against city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro alleging that he directed deputies to withhold evidence from the defense has been dismissed.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel notified Kaneshiro in a letter in December that the complaint was dropped following a "thorough review" of submissions by Takata and the prosecutor.
The office said it has been determined there is "insufficient evidence" that Kaneshiro violated disciplinary rules governing lawyers.
A member of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s disciplinary board reviewed its office’s investigationand determined the complaint should be dismissed, the office said.
But the board member recommended that Kaneshiro make his policy on the issue of disclosing information to the defense "transparent," according to the letter.
Kaneshiro, who denied any wrongdoing, waived the confidentiality of the disciplinary case last week by disclosing the findings to rebut Takata’s contention that deputies left the office because they were instructed to act unethically.
Takata said the information included inconsistent statements by witnesses.
He said the "insufficient evidence" finding doesn’t mean what he alleged wasn’t true, and that a more thorough investigation would have upheld his allegations.