Jerry Burris
Mirikitani has 1 card left to play

By Jerry Burris
Advertiser Editorial Editor

As is almost always the case, political intrigue is fast overshadowing everything else in the case of Honolulu Councilman Andy Mirikitani.

Mirikitani is in serious legal trouble. A federal jury found him guilty of six felony counts in theft, bribery, extortion, wire fraud and witness tampering.

Any felony is serious enough. But these counts go directly to abuse of power and betrayal of the public trust. While Mirikitani continues to insist he did nothing wrong, that story will be hard to sustain in the worlds of public opinion or politics.

So what comes next? That's where the political intrigue steps up.

Mirikitani is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4. Until then, he legally can hold on to his Council seat because — while a jury found him guilty — he will not technically be a convicted felon until sentencing.

And the state law that applies here says any elected official convicted of a felony must step down at sentencing.

These are fine legal niceties that have a lot of people shaking their heads in astonishment. But they do make sense.

Here's the theory: It is common for defense attorneys to ask a judge to overturn a jury verdict, declare a mistrial, order a new trial or in other ways nullify a jury's verdict.

When such motions are granted, there is in fact no conviction. So basic law says that conviction comes at the time of sentencing, not at the moment that a judge or jury issues a verdict.

Once sentence is passed, however, Mirikitani will be forced to resign, even if he appeals or even if imposition of the sentence is postponed. In fact, even if Mirikitani wins his appeal or is granted a new trial, he will have lost his council seat.

But the timing of this resignation is crucial and plays directly into Council politics. If Mirikitani's seat becomes vacant with at least a year remaining in his term of office, a special election will be held to replace him.

If the vacancy is less than a year before the term expires, the remaining eight members of the Council will approve an appointee to hold the post.

With the Council frequently split on big issues, the political leanings and loyalties of that last ninth member becomes crucial.

If Mirikitani's lawyers manage to put off sentencing by a few weeks, and if Mirikitani holds on to his seat in the meantime, the replacement council member will be an appointee.

If sentencing takes place as scheduled on Dec. 4 or if Mirikitani voluntarily steps down before that date, voters in the communities that Mirikitani represents — Manoa, Mo'ili'ili, McCully, Tantalus, Makiki, Pawa'a, Ala Moana and Kewalo — will decide who the new council member will be.

That leaves Mirikitani with a fairly important decision. While his own legal troubles and personal problems obviously must be his first concern, he still has a big card to play on the Council.

It is clear that most of the Council members would far rather see an election than be forced into choosing a replacement. Oddly enough, that decision rests not with them, but with Andy Mirikitani.

Correction: A previous version of this column incorrectly described the triggering mechanism for a special election.