Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro is entitled to due process before anyone concludes he did anything wrong (“Hawaii attorney general petitions for Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro’s suspension,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 13).

But his attorney, Bill McCorriston, is incorrect when claiming there is no precedent for the attorney general’s petition seeking his suspension. The attorney general cited cases I argued before the Hawaii Supreme Court in the 1970s successfully removing the prosecuting attorney from investigating his boss, Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi, in the Kukui Plaza case.

The law enforcement authority of the prosecutor, the Supreme Court ruled, was derived from the attorney general. We will soon learn if the Supreme Court deems that law still valid.

Michael A. Lilly

Former Hawaii attorney general

Pacific Heights

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