Posted on: Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Election laws applied unequally, ACLU says
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
The American Civil Liberties Union Hawai'i Chapter has accused former state Attorney General Earl Anzai of "selectively enforcing" laws that prohibit public agencies from using taxpayer money to try to influence the outcome of election issues.
Brent White, legal director of the ACLU's Honolulu office, issued a press release yesterday claiming that Anzai told the state public defender's office in an Oct. 24 letter that it could not use public resources to campaign against a state constitutional amendment that would allow state prosecutors to send felony cases to trial by submitting reports to a judge.
At present, prosecutors must seek an indictment via a grand jury or have a District Court judge agree there is enough evidence for probable cause to turn a defendant over to Circuit Court to be tried on felony charges.
White said that while Anzai kept the public defender's office from campaigning against passage of Amendment No. 3 during the Nov. 5 election, he took no action against City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle for allegedly using public resources in an attempt to influence the outcome of the ballot issue.
Amendment No. 3 passed by an overwhelming margin.
Anzai could not be reached to comment yesterday.
The ACLU sent a letter to newly appointed Attorney General Mark Bennett yesterday, giving him 10 days to explain what he intends to do to "ensure that election laws are equally applied in the future."
Jim Fulton, spokesman for Honolulu's Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, reiterated statements Carlisle made on the issue in October.
At that time, Carlisle said he had sought approval from the Honolulu Ethics Commission and the Hawai'i State Ethics Commission before allowing any prosecutors to advocate passage of the amendment and that neither agency found a problem with his office using public resources to advocate for the passage of the so-called "direct filing amendment."
White yesterday said that reports filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission indicate Carlisle used about $2,404 of city taxpayer money to print brochures urging voters to support the amendment.
