Defense lawyer accuses deputy prosecutor of assault

Lawyers can get zealous at times when representing their clients or clients’ interests, but one deputy prosecutor may have gone too far.

Defense attorney Myles Breiner said that a Honolulu deputy prosecutor with whom he was involved in plea negotiations assaulted him Wednesday in the state courthouse. Breiner filed a complaint against the deputy prosecutor with the state Department of Public Safety’s Sheriff Division.

The Sheriff Division has law enforcement jurisdiction in the courts.

In the complaint Breiner said the deputy prosecutor accused him of calling the deputy prosecutor a liar, challenged him to fight, slammed into his body, shoved hard on both of his shoulders, then took a fighting stance.

Breiner said it all happened in a hallway following a contentious hearing involving him and the deputy prosecutor.

No one was arrested.

Breiner said his assistant, another deputy prosecutor and a state sheriff deputy were witnesses.

The assistant filed a similar statement with the Sheriff Division.

Breiner said he was in pain afterward because he recently had shoulder surgery, and made an appointment with his orthopedist to see whether any of the repairs to his shoulder were damaged.

He also filed a request with the court asking to have the deputy prosecutor disqualified from the case.

The case is for attempted murder, using a firearm to commit the crime and felony possession of a firearm. The trial was scheduled to begin today. At the Wednesday hearing, however, Circuit Judge Paul B.K. Wong rescheduled the trial to February, to allow for further plea negotiations.

In a written statement, the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney said, “We are aware of and are looking into an alleged incident involving Mr. Breiner and one of our deputy prosecutors.”