A state judge has fined a defense lawyer $250 for telling the jury in federal agent Christopher Deedy’s murder trial that the man he shot had resisted arrest in a prior case.
City prosecutors wanted Circuit Judge Karen Ahn on Monday to fine Karl Blanke $1,000 and prohibit the Virginia lawyer from practicing law here.
City Deputy Prosecutor Janice Futa told the judge that Blanke misled the jury during closing arguments.
But Deedy’s main lawyer, Thomas Otake, argued that Blanke’s remarks were a "reasonable inference" from earlier testimony and urged the judge to refrain from issuing any sanction.
Ahn said she thought Blanke knew he wasn’t supposed to mention that Kollin Elderts had resisted arrest but did so anyway.
"It was part of the argument to win," the judge said.
Ahn, however, declined to revoke Blanke’s permission to continue representing Deedy here.
Deedy, 29, a Virginia resident and special agent for the State Department, was on Oahu in November 2011 to provide security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference when he was charged with murder for the shooting of the 23-year-old Kailua man at a Waikiki McDonald’s restaurant.
Deedy maintained he fired in self-defense.
After 20 days of testimony and five days of deliberations, the jury reported Aug. 26 that it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict. Ahn declared a mistrial. Jury selection for the retrial is scheduled for June.
The jury foreman later reported the panel was deadlocked 8-4 for acquittal.
One of the hotly disputed issues during the trial was to what extent the defense could introduce details of Elderts’ disorderly-conduct conviction following his 2008 arrest outside the Boardriders bar in Kailua.
Deedy’s defense contended the details showed Elderts’ "aggressive and violent character" in support of the agent’s self-defense contention. The prosecution wanted the prior case excluded from trial.
Ahn permitted the defense to introduce the details of the disorderly- conduct case through the testimony of a police officer involved with the arrest. But she limited the testimony and specified nine questions that the defense could ask retired police Lt. Wayne Fernandez on the witness stand.
The prosecution maintained that the defense was specifically prohibited from eliciting any testimony that Elderts resisted arrest.
During closing arguments, Blanke told the jury that Elderts had been arrested previously and had "resisted arrest."
Futa objected and Ahn told the jury to disregard Blanke’s remarks.
The deputy prosecutor argued Monday that Blanke acted unprofessionally and in "bad faith."
Otake contended Blanke’s remark was a "reasonable inference" from Fernandez’s testimony that Elderts struggled when he was arrested.
Ahn, however, said "resisting arrest" and "struggling" are different concepts.
Deedy has returned to his Arlington, Va., home and remains free on $250,000 bail. He continues to work at a State Department desk job pending the outcome of his criminal case.
After the trial, Otake took over as Deedy’s lead counsel, replacing Brook Hart.
Otake said he and attorney Hayley Cheng will be handling the retrial. Blanke, who did not attend Monday’s hearing, is still involved with the case, Otake said.
Also left over from the trial is a pending request by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and other media asking the Hawaii Supreme Court to unseal transcripts of the closed court proceedings the day of the mistrial. They also want an order prohibiting Ahn from closing court sessions without giving the public a chance to object.
The high court sent the case back to Ahn last week for consideration of the media’s request to unseal the transcript.
