Council frets over possible Mirikitani appearance

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer

The Honolulu City Council today faces the prospect of making some uncomfortable history with the possibility that City Councilman Andy Mirikitani takes his seat as a lawmaker a week after a jury convicted him of being a lawbreaker.

Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura said Mirikitani had not indicated if he will take part in today's council meeting, the first since his conviction last Tuesday in federal court. He is the only municipal official in Honolulu ever to be convicted of public corruption.

Mirikitani was convicted last week of six felonies. The public corruption charges are linked to a scheme in which he gave two former aides substantial bonuses so they would kick back a share of the money to him.

State law allows him to remain in office until sentencing, scheduled Dec. 4. Mirikitani said Monday that he won't resign.

Federal officials say the five-month gap between conviction and sentencing has to do with the crowded court calendar and the time it takes to complete a detailed pre-sentence report.

Jud Watkins, chief deputy clerk for the U.S. District Court in Hawai'i, said the sentencing dates reflect the busy schedule of the federal judges. "Everyone should be assured that Mr. Mirikitani is receiving no special favors or consideration due to his position in the community," he said.

Because there is a vacancy for a federal judge, Watkins said, "what we're seeing is some delays across all courts because the workload of our judges is very high."

Watkins said sentencing dates tend to remain fairly firm and are not likely to be shifted. "Once a sentencing date is set, there has to be a pretty good reason for changing it," he said.

Elizabeth Taylor, Hawai'i's chief U.S. probation officer, said court rules call for probation officers to take at least three months to complete a detailed pre-sentence report. "It can't be any less than 14 weeks," Taylor said.

Taylor said the report includes background information on the case and the defendant, interviewing the defendant, a summary of the case and sentencing guidelines. "It really does take that long to do this kind of a detailed investigation and report and to allow input from both parties, both the defense and the government," she said.