Judge dismisses petition to impeach Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro

A setback Monday in state Circuit Court won’t discourage Oahu businessman Tracy Yoshimura from going back to the starting line in his quest to have Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro impeached, his attorney said Monday night.

Yoshimura’s petition to impeach Kaneshiro was dismissed Monday by Circuit Judge Jeffrey Crabtree. The judge cited procedural issues dealing with the use of electronic signatures to meet a Honolulu City Charter requirement requiring the signatures of 500 registered voters.

Attorney Keith Kiuchi said Yoshimura will file a new petition using traditional, hand-written signatures.

”Mr. Yoshimura is NOT deterred by the Court’s dismissal, however he does not agree with the Court’s decision,” Kiuchi said. “Because of the vagueness of the applicable City Charter which outlines the process to impeach the city prosecutor, the intent of Mr. Yoshimura’s initial filing was to to flush out what the (actual) requirements are, so that he could … move forward accordingly.”

Rather than appeal Crabtree’s decision, Yoshimura will file a new petition using a stronger argument based on “new developments,” including former Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kea­loha’s conviction two weeks ago on federal charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice, Kiuchi said.

Kaneshiro had been Kealoha’s boss.

Crabtree on Monday sided with the argument made by city attorneys that the electronic signatures posed logistical challenges. The charter is silent on the issue of electronic filings. Attorneys with the Department of Corporation Counsel argued that the law only gives city Clerk Glen Takahashi the option to accept electronic signatures. The city is choosing not to accept electronic signatures because of a higher potential for fraud, city attorneys said.

“The court finds there is no way to tell based on the record in this case whether the actual or proposed ‘digital signers’ of either petitioner’s initial petition or his proposed amended petition are actually different people, or whether they are duly registered voters of the city of Honolulu,” Crabtree’s ruling said.

Kiuchi argued that the city should be required to accept electronic signatures and can’t refuse them just because it had failed to insert language addressing how they should be handled. He pointed out that the city accepts voter registration applications that are filed online with electronic signatures.

Crabtree disagreed.

“The court finds it is not unreasonable or discriminatory for the city to take the position that fraudulent and or questionable signatures are a valid concern for online petitions to impeach duly elected public officials,” he ruled.

Yoshimura said Kaneshiro should be impeached because he is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and, therefore, has cast a cloud over the city Department of the Prosecuting Attorney and the cases prosecuted under Kaneshiro’s authority.

William McCorriston, Kaneshiro’s attorney, said both he and his client are happy with Crabtree’s decision.

“Mr. Kaneshiro is gratified that the court correctly interpreted the law, and we appreciate the court’s diligence in this matter,” McCorriston said.

Kaneshiro has been on voluntary paid leave from his $170,712-a-year job since March 7. He is two years into a four-year term that voters gave him in 2016.

He was notified last year that he was a target of a federal investigation into government corruption.