The question of whether Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro should be impeached will likely drag deep into 2019.

On Friday state Circuit Judge Jeffrey P. Crabtree set a Feb. 14 date for a follow-up conference after learning that the issue of Kaneshiro’s legal representation probably won’t be settled until at least February.

“There’s only so far we can go if Mr. Kaneshiro is not represented,” Crabtree said.

A petition filed by Honolulu businessman Tracy Yoshimura seeks to have Kaneshiro removed because of a federal investigation involving him. More than 900 people signed the online petition.

The Revised Charter of the City and County of Honolulu requires a petition for impeachment to have 500 signatures of registered voters of the city.

Yoshimura’s petition says Kaneshiro should be impeached for refusing to step down after he received a “target letter” from federal prosecutors informing him that he is a target of a grand jury investigation.

The petition also said Kaneshiro should be ousted for failing to take action against former deputy Katherine Kealoha after it became known that the FBI was investigating her for potential criminal wrongdoing.

Kealoha and her husband, retired Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, were indicted on charges that they conspired to frame Katherine Kealoha’s uncle for stealing the Kealohas’ mailbox as part of a family dispute over money. They are also charged with bank fraud for allegedly lying on loan applications to secure mortgages on their home.

Kaneshiro did not appear at Friday’s conference, and no one was there to represent him. A spokeswoman in the prosecutor’s office said Kaneshiro had no comment.

Paul Aoki, first deputy corporation counsel for the city, stated several times that he was in the courtroom at the request of the court and did not represent Kaneshiro.

Kaneshiro could ask the city to provide him with legal counsel in the proceeding, Aoki said.

The Department of Corporation Counsel would likely recommend that outside attorneys be hired to represent Kaneshiro. Such a hire would need approval from the City Council and be paid for by taxpayers. The Council is unlikely to make a decision on that until mid- or late February, Aoki said.

It was clear from Friday’s hearing that the impeachment petition process remains murky due to vague language in state and city law, and also because no one in Hawaii has attempted to impeach an elected official since the laws went into effect.

After Friday’s conference Yoshimura’s attorney, Keith Kiuchi, voiced frustration at the lack of instructions on how a citizen-led impeachment effort is to be conducted. He urged state and city lawmakers to make changes to the law.

He noted that the last impeachment initiative was against former City Councilwoman Rene Mansho in 1992. That case went directly to the Hawaii Supreme Court, but Mansho announced her resignation from the Council before the proceedings began.