Yonamine's on-again, off-again DUI plea

State Rep. Noboru Yonamine’s awkward public discomfiture took another turn this week as he first pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, and then quickly resolved to change that plea to guilty.

His attorneys had advised him to plead not guilty because that is the routine in DUI cases. He wasn’t required to be present. "They recommended I plead not guilty in the event something was found defensible in the case," Yonamine explained.

Some onlookers have faulted Yonamine for that decision, but it’s exactly what virtually all defendants are advised. Legally, Yonamine is innocent unless and until the prosecution proves him guilty. That has nothing to do — again, legally speaking — with his own guilty knowledge.

From what Yonamine himself has said publicly about the case, and the data released by police, it’s hard to construe an explanation for the events of the night of Feb. 8 that doesn’t include driving while intoxicated. Nevertheless, Yonamine has the legal right to make the prosecution prove it.

So much for the legal discussion. Next came the moral debate.

"My wife and daughter got very upset and set me straight that if I said I’m wrong, I should just plead guilty," said Yonamine. It is admirable that Yonamine chose to own up to his behavior and accept the consequences, including a big hike in auto insurance, rather than exercise his right to hold out for a stroke of luck and acquittal.

And finally, there’s the political argument. Yonamine has already apologized to his constituents for his misbehavior. What would they think when they found him pleading innocent to a misdemeanor that he’d been confessing to all over Pearl City?

Given a chance to think and consult about his plea, Yonomine’s decision was not only the right and pono choice, but the smarter one.

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