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Convicted felon Katherine Kealoha has a new court-appointed attorney.
Gary Singh, whose practice largely focuses on criminal cases, mostly in the federal courts, was appointed Friday to represent Kealoha, a former deputy prosecutor, in her two upcoming trials.
She and her husband, retired Police Chief Louis Kealoha, also a convicted felon, are scheduled to go on trial in October on charges of bank fraud, identity theft and obstruction.
A few months later Katherine Kealoha and her brother, Dr. Rudolph Puana, face charges of conspiracy and drug distribution.
A court hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning to discuss the upcoming trial dates. It will be the first time Singh appears on behalf of his new client.
The Kealohas and two
police officers were convicted last month with using their law enforcement positions to conspire to frame Katherine Kealoha’s uncle in the alleged theft of the Kealohas’ mailbox in 2013 and lying to federal investigators.
Five days after the jury reached a verdict, Kealoha’s court-appointed lawyer, Cynthia Kagiwada, filed a motion seeking to be removed from the case, citing “an irretrievable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship, which cannot be reconciled.”
On the same day the court granted Kagiwada’s request, Kealoha’s co-counsel, Earle Partington, hired by Kealoha’s mother in the late stages of the trial, filed a motion seeking a new trial, citing what Partington described as Kagiwada’s inexperience and ineffective counsel.
He said his client is pleased with Singh’s appointment. Singh has been practicing law since 1995.
“He’s a competent attorney with the requisite experience,” said Partington, who is not expected to represent Kealoha beyond her October sentencing for conspiracy and obstruction.
Singh declined comment, citing his client’s instructions.
Federal court records show he has handled nearly 150 criminal cases since 2000.
Most criminal cases in federal court are settled
before going to trial.
The court has appointed attorneys for Kealoha because it determined she
cannot afford to hire one.
Singh’s last significant trial was last year as court-appointed standby counsel for former death row inmate Isaiah McCoy, who defended himself against sex trafficking charges.
McCoy consulted Singh frequently throughout the case, which ended midtrial in November when prosecutors dropped the charges against McCoy.
The defendant was
accused of sex trafficking, producing child pornography and tampering with witnesses.
McCoy in 2012 had been sentenced to death for a drug-related murder conviction in Delaware, but the verdict was later overturned. During the retrial a state judge found McCoy not guilty.
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