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Former Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha is asking a federal judge for a two-month postponement of a public corruption trial for her, her husband and several other defendants so she can receive treatment for cancer, according to a motion her lawyer filed Friday in court.
The motion does not say what kind of cancer Kealoha has or what treatment is necessary. An exhibit related to Kealoha’s condition was filed with the motion under seal.
It is not unusual for the court to keep confidential personal health information.
The felony trial for Kealoha, her husband, former Police Chief Louis Kealoha, and three former members of the Honolulu Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit is scheduled to start March 18 with jury selection.
The defendants are charged with conspiring to frame Katherine Kealoha’s uncle with stealing a mailbox and then lying about it to federal investigators.
Attorney Cynthia Kagiwada, who represents Katherine Kealoha, asked the court to postpone the start date to May 20 because her client’s physicians “recently determined that Ms. Kealoha must receive immediate treatment for cancer,” according to the motion.
Kagiwada declined to speak with reporters following a Friday court session in which federal prosecutor Michael Wheat, who oversees the case for the U.S. Justice Department, the defendants’ lawyers and U.S. District Chief Judge J. Michael Seabright discussed logistics of the upcoming trial.
The government has sent jury summons to 481 prospective jurors for the case.
To accommodate such a large group, the court will hold the jury selection process at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, rather than the federal courthouse, starting March 18.
The issue of what kind of medical treatment Kealoha allegedly needs came up briefly at Friday’s hearing, but Seabright said a letter from her physician was too generic and that he needed more information.
The judge scheduled a hearing for Monday morning to speak with the doctor, who was not identified. The discussion with the doctor would be conducted in a closed session.
At Friday’s hearing, several matters were discussed, including the ground rules for how the attorneys can use social media to research prospective jurors. The 400-plus who have been summoned eventually will be pared to 12 plus some alternates.
The judge instructed the attorneys to only use websites that are available to the public and to refrain from contacting prospective jurors through friend links and other social media engagement methods.
“This is the brave new world,” Seabright told the lawyers.
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