10-day jail term in Harris donor case appealed
Advertiser Staff
A prominent Honolulu attorney who pleaded guilty to steering illegal campaign contributions to Mayor Jeremy Harris will stay out of jail while he appeals his 10-day sentence and presses for disqualification of the judge who oversaw the case.
Advertiser library photo
Edward Y.C. Chun had been scheduled to begin serving the sentence yesterday, but Circuit Judge Steven Alm granted him one month to file the appeals and indicated Chun will remain free while they are pending.
Edward Chun pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge.
Chun, 71, pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of advising the Food Pantry grocery chain to donate $5,000 to Harris under the names of two employees, who were reimbursed by the company illegally.
Chun's attorney, Dale Lee, had sought to disqualify Alm from the case for allegedly reaching a premature conclusion that Chun was guilty and should go to jail. Alm dismissed the claim in September and said Lee had taken appropriate pretrial discussions out of context.
Lee indicated he would argue that the jail sentence was inappropriate because other defendants have been fined for similar offenses but were not locked up.
