The primary function of a prosecuting attorney is to promote public safety by enforcing the law.
A June 24 editorial suggests I should compromise public safety by accepting plea-bargains in drunken driving cases, contending that pleabargains would help ease the backlog in our congested courts (“More judges can ease caseloads,” Star-Advertiser, Our View).
As prosecuting attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, I strongly object to the idea our office adopt a policy of plea-bargaining DUI cases. I was elected to uphold the law, not bend it to facilitate crowded courts. A rare case may surface where circumstances support a plea bargain, but our office will not allow defendants to plead guilty to lesser offenses simply because doing so would reduce the burden on our courtrooms.
Driving under the influence is a serious offense that all too often results in tragic consequences. About 1 in 4 deadly crashes on Oahu involves alcohol or drugs. People who endanger innocent lives by engaging in such irresponsible behavior should be prosecuted according to the law, not let off the hook.
Defense attorneys would like us to enter into plea deals allowing their clients to plead guilty to reckless driving. While both DUI and reckless driving are petty misdemeanors, the sentence, financial implications and lasting effect of a DUI conviction is a much stronger deterrent than that of a reckless driving conviction.
A person found guilty of his or her first DUI offense loses the driver’s license for a year, must undergo at least 14 hours of substance abuse rehabilitation, and either spend two to five days in jail, pay a fine of up to $1,000 or perform at least 72-hours of community service work. DUI sentencing is mandatory. The penalty for DUI increases with each subsequent conviction. DUI convictions cannot be expunged. And the cost of auto insurance soars after a DUI conviction.
A person convicted of reckless driving will likely keep their license. And, a reckless driving conviction can be expunged from a person’s record if allowed to enter into a deferred acceptance of guilty plea.
A person allowed to plea-bargain out of a DUI conviction would escape the graduated penalties for DUI. Those penalties were purposefully written into Hawaii law to deter drivers from becoming repeat offenders.
The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney recognizes the volume of cases clogging our courtrooms. And under my direction we have sought relief.
My office secured initial funding for Community Outreach Court, a highly successful program that has expeditiously cleared nearly 1,000 cases — cases that would otherwise further burden Oahu’s busy courts.
The editorial, and the June 19 article in the “Justice Delayed” series, mention the last time the Legislature approved funding for a new judge was in 2012. What was not mentioned is that my office wrote the bill that provided funding for that new judge. And the funding was granted despite conditional opposition from the Judiciary.
Changes in case law over the past decade have made it more challenging to secure DUI convictions. So let’s work with lawmakers to fix laws that need to be fine-tuned. And let’s make better use of the resources we already have. Too many courtrooms sit idle as scheduled cases get delayed. If more of those courtrooms are assigned overflow cases from busy courtrooms, congestion will be reduced.
According to HPD there were 3,926 DUI arrests on Oahu last year. I want those drivers to know they will be prosecuted according to the law, not given a pass just because our courts are overcrowded.
Keith M. Kaneshiro is the prosecuting attorney of the City & County of Honolulu.
