Attorney General of Hawaii

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The Attorney General of Hawaii (Hawaiian: Loio Kuhina) is the chief legal officer and chief law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, the Attorney General is appointed by the elected governor with the approval of the state senate and is responsible for a state department charged with advising the various other departments and agencies of state government. The Attorney General is responsible for the prosecution of offenses under state law. The Attorney General can only be removed by an act of the state senate. In rare occasions, the Attorney General serves as acting governor in the absence of both the governor and lieutenant governor from the state for an extended period of time.

The office has existed in several forms throughout the history of the Hawaiian Islands. It was created by Kamehameha III and was part of the administration of each successive monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The office was kept in the provisional government, after Liliuokalani and the monarchy was overthrown, and became a part of the succeeding administration of the Republic of Hawaii. A regular part of the American model of the executive branch of government, the office of attorney general was part of the Territory of Hawaii under Section 80 of the Hawaiian Organic Act and made an appointed office after statehood was achieved in 1959.

Though a non-partisan office, in territorial days the office of Attorney General has traditionally been appointed from the political party of the sitting President of the United States who appoints the territorial governor. Similarly in statehood, the office of Attorney General has traditionally been appointed from the incumbent governor's political party, usually Republican or Democrat.

The current acting Attorney General is Holly Shikada, who was appointed by Governor David Ige on December 8, 2021. Shikada is serving in acting capacity pending confirmation following the resignation of Clare E. Connors, who was confirmed as the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii the previous day.^[1]

Agencies[]

The Attorney General leads a department of 180 attorneys and 500 professional and support personnel. The department oversees various public services. These include administering the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, running the Missing Child Center, Child Support Enforcement Agency, Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Hawaii Internet and Technology Crimes Unit, Office of Child Support Hearings, Tobacco Enforcement Unit, among others.^[2] In accordance with Chapter 846E of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Criminal Justice Data Center maintains a registry of sex offenders in the state.^[3] Likewise, the agency provides other criminal history information through the statewide criminal history record information system and Automated Fingerprint Identification System.^[4]

History[]

Origins[]

Prussian-born Paul Neumann served as Attorney General of Hawaii under Liliuokalani. In Washington, D.C., he argued against the overthrow of the monarchy. He later defended the deposed queen in trial for misprision of treason. She was convicted.

William Owen Smith (third from left) was Attorney General of the provisional government and succeeding Republic of Hawaii. From left to right: Interior Minister James A. King, President Sanford B. Dole, Smith, Finance Minister Peter Cushman Jones.

Herbert Young Cho Choy served as a territorial Attorney General. He was the first Korean American to be admitted to the bar and the first Asian American to serve as Federal judge. During his tenure on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, there were no other Asians sitting on any Federal bench.

John Ricord served as the first Attorney General of Hawaii. He arrived in the Kingdom on February 27, 1844, on the Columbia. He was the first Western-trained lawyer in the islands.^[5][6] The previous year a land dispute by Richard Charlton led to a British occupation known as the Paulet Affair. A related case of Ladd & Co. required lengthy arbitration. These cases would consume his entire time on the islands.^[7] Within a few weeks he swore allegiance to Kamehameha III and on March 9, 1844, was appointed first Attorney General. In July 1845 he joined the Privy Council.^[8] On October 29, 1845, the executive branch of the government was formally organized through legislation he proposed. On May 17, 1847, he resigned all his offices, and on June 12 was released from his oath of allegiance, so he could resume his citizenship of the United States.^[8] He left August 19, 1847.^[9] The office of Attorney General was suspended until the 1860s.^[10] His work on organizing the courts was taken over by the second trained attorney to arrive in the islands, William Little Lee.

Revival[]

On August 26, 1862, Kamehameha IV revived the office and appointed Charles Coffin Harris as Attorney General.^[11] Having an attorney general proved useful on constitutional matters. Kamehameha V insisted on a new constitution that would restore some of the power to the monarchy that had been lost over time. Harris issued his legal opinion that the king had such a right and produced an early draft. A constitutional convention failed to reach agreement, so Harris got the cabinet to negotiate directly with Kamehameha V leading to the promulgation of the 1864 Constitution.^[12]

Controversies[]

A more modern controversy happened with the failed 1998 confirmation by the state senate of popular sitting Attorney General Margery Bronster, as political payback for her actions to reform the corrupt Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate whose trustees were friends of various powerful legislators, many Hawaiʻi residents called for the right to elect the attorney general. Several attempts failed to create the constitutional amendment.

List of attorneys general[]

The attorneys general with dates of service:^[11]

Kingdom of Hawaii[]

Name	Portrait	Term start	Term end
John Ricord		March 9, 1844	May 17, 1847
Charles Coffin Harris		August 26, 1862	December 21, 1865
Charles Coffin Harris (acting)		March 26, 1866	September 12, 1866
Stephen Henry Phillips		September 12, 1866	January 10, 1873
Albert Francis Judd		January 13, 1873	February 19, 1874
Alfred S. Hartwell		February 18, 1874	May 28, 1874
Richard H. Stanley		May 28, 1874	November 5, 1875
John Smith Walker		November 5, 1875	February 15, 1876
William Richards Castle		February 15, 1876	December 5, 1876
Alfred S. Hartwell		December 5, 1876	July 3, 1878
Edward Preston		July 13, 1878	August 14, 1880
W. Claude Jones		August 14, 1880	September 27, 1880
John Smith Walker		September 27, 1880	November 29, 1880
William Nevins Armstrong		November 29, 1880	January 17, 1881
Henry A. P. Carter		January 17, 1881	November 5, 1881
William Nevins Armstrong		November 5, 1881	May 19, 1882
Edward Preston		May 19, 1882	May 14, 1883
Walter M. Gibson (acting)		May 14, 1883	December 14, 1883
Paul Neumann		December 14, 1883	June 30, 1886
Walter M. Gibson (ad interim)		September 18, 1884	August 3, 1885
John T. Dare		July 1, 1886	October 13, 1886
John Lot Kaulukou		October 13, 1886	October 23, 1886
Antone Rosa		November 15, 1886	June 28, 1887
Clarence W. Ashford		July 1, 1887	June 14, 1890
Arthur P. Peterson		June 17, 1890	February 25, 1891
William A. Whiting		February 25, 1891	July 27, 1892
Paul Neumann		August 29, 1892	August 30, 1892
Paul Neumann		September 12, 1892	October 17, 1892
Charles F. Creighton		November 1, 1892	November 8, 1892
Cecil Brown		November 8, 1892	January 12, 1893
Arthur P. Peterson		January 13, 1893	January 17, 1893

Republic of Hawaii[]

Name	Portrait	Term start	Term end
William Owen Smith		January 17, 1893	October 25, 1895
(interim)		October 25, 1895	November 6, 1895
Henry E. Cooper (interim)		November 6, 1895	December 13, 1895
William Owen Smith		December 13, 1895	February 10, 1897
Henry E. Cooper (interim)		February 10, 1897	April 11, 1897
William Owen Smith		April 11, 1897	March 20, 1899

Territory of Hawaii[]

• Henry Ernest Cooper, 1899–1900
• Edmund Pearson Dole, 1900–1903
• Lorrin Andrews, 1903–1905 (grandson of missionary Lorrin Andrews)
• Emil C. Peters, 1905–1907
• Charles R. Hemenway, 1907–1910
• Alexander Lindsay Jr., 1910–1912
• Wade Warren Thayer, 1913–1914
• Ingram M. Stainback, 1914–1918
• Arthur G. Smith, 1918
• Harry Irwin, 1918–1922
• John A. Matthewman, 1922–1925
• William B. Lymer, 1925–1928
• Harry P. Hewitt, 1928–1934
• William B. Pittman, 1934–1936
• S. B. Kemp, 1937–1938
• Joseph V. Hodgson, 1938–1942
• Ernest K. Kai, 1942
• J. Garner Anthony, 1942–1943
• Cyrus Nils Tavares, 1944–1947
• Walter D. Ackerman Jr., 1947–1952
• Michiro Watanabe, 1952–1953
• Edward N. Sylva, 1953–1956
• Richard K. Sharpless, 1956–1957
• Shiro Kashiwa, 1957
• Herbert Young Cho Choy, 1957–1958
• Jack H. Mizuha, 1958–1959

State of Hawaii[]

• Jack H. Mizuha, 1959
• Shiro Kashiwa, 1959–1960
• Bert Kobayashi 1962–1969
• Bertram Kanbara 1969–1971
• George T. H. Pai 1971
• Ronald Amemiya, 1974–1978^[13]
• Wayne Minami 1978–1981
• Tany S. Hong, 1981–1984
• Michael A. Lilly, 1984–1985
• Corinne Watanabe 1985–1986
• Warren Price, III 1986–1992
• Robert A. Marks 1992–95
• Margery Bronster, 1995–1998
• Earl I. Anzai, 1999–2002
• Mark J. Bennett, 2003–2010
• David M. Louie, 2011–2014
• Russell Suzuki (Acting), 2014–2015
• Doug Chin, 2015–2018
• Russell Suzuki, 2018–2019
• Clare E. Connors, 2019–2021
• Holly Shikada (Acting), 2021–present

See also[]

• Cabinet of the Kingdom of Hawaii

References[]

• Newbury, Colin (2001). "Patronage and Bureaucracy in the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1840–1893". Pacific Studies. Laie, HI: Brigham Young University, Hawaii Campus. 24 (1–2): 1–38. OCLC 607265842. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15.

External links[]

• Hawaii Attorney General official website