Department of the Honolulu Prosecutor

5 responses to “Department of the Honolulu Prosecutor”

1. Doug

   October 19, 2010 at 5:17 pm

   Will you be replacing Lori Nishimura, or joining her at the same job?

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   • Jon Riki Karamatsu

     October 22, 2010 at 1:56 am

     Doug,

     I am not sure who is in the office yet?

     Jon Riki Karamatsu

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2. John Law

   October 20, 2010 at 10:02 am

   Riki-
   As head of the judiciary, you didn’t advance any law enforcement bills. In fact, many of the critical law enforcement bills you held and didn’t even give them a hearing. How can you represent the Hon. Pros. effectively – has your views suddenly changed?

   John

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   • Jon Riki Karamatsu

     October 22, 2010 at 2:54 am

     John,

     One of the biggest driving forces behind my political career has been to reduce violence. When I was in college, I always thought I would fight crime with a vengeance for all the suffering inflicted by our most negative humans. “Violence” has haunted my friends and I. I have numerous female friends who were sexually assaulted. A number of my female friends were also abused. My close childhood friend was nearly shot in a drive-by.

     A former girlfriend of mine was almost raped at a party I attended. I dated another girl who was raped by two men who drugged her. I also dated a girl whose father was nearly shot in the Xerox killings.

     I have had my share of threats and scuffles. I have had people threatening to harm or kill me. Most recently, while waiting in line at a store, a man recognized me as a politician and began swearing at me trying to start a fight.

     I changed the sexual assault law to prohibit the use of a substance in committing the crime.

     I added “electronic communication” for the harassment and harassment by stalking statutes. I also created a criminal impersonation law. Female friends of mine had personal pictures of them posted on the Internet and were harassed through electronic communication.

     The law enforcement bills presented by Peter Carlisle, which I did not advance infringed upon constitutional rights or would have made the laws extremely lopsided. Moreover, it didn’t help our working relationship when in our first meeting, he threatened, “If you disagree with me, I will use the power of my office against you.” Also, I believe judges need to have discretion in their decision making. Every case is different. For example, a 35-year-old male with a violent past including assault, weapons charges, and others can commit second degree murder. In another situation, a young 19 year old female who was repreatedly raped by an older male can commit second degree murder on the person who raped her. Both individuals can commit the same crime but under different circumstances. Should we have laws that mandate a certain punishment across the board regardles of the facts surrounding the crime? Should we enact laws so lopsided that even an innocent person would have difficulty proving his innocence? Should we create laws that do not give a judge discretion to make a decision based on all facts? These are the tough questions that challenged the advocate in me? The lawmaker hat and the advocate hat I wore, was always challenging each other.

     My mentor, the late senator and attorney Nadao “Najo” Yoshinaga taught me, “Balance is important.” A veteran of World War II, he was one of the first politicians to oppose the Vietnam War from the beginning and was heavily criticized, even called anti-American. He believed the pros did not outweigh the cons for the Vietnam War. I opposed the war in the Middle East because I felt we didn’t exhaust all our options and did not work better with our allies.

     Also, balance has also been important to me when enacting laws that affects business and labor. I strongly believe it is a give and take relationship, as they both need each other.

     These are just some examples of the challenges I faced to find balance in the laws. It may not win you endorsements from organizations, but the most important thing is that you made a decision your soul can live with.

     However, as an incoming Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor, I am now an advocate loyal to Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and the department and will work hard to support this institution’s legislative package. I no longer have the challenge or to some, the burden of the lawmaker’s hat. Balancing the laws are now in the hands of the incoming legislature.

     Sincerely,
     Jon Riki Karamatsu

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3. John Law

   October 20, 2010 at 11:05 pm

   Riki-
   How can you take a job like this, when as House Judiciary Chair you did not support law enforcement and failed to provide LE bills a hearing in your committee? Please post and respond!

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