Attorney General of Hawaii

The Attorney General of Hawaii (Hawaiian: Loio Kuhina) is the chief legal officer and chief law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, the Attorney General is appointed by the elected governor with the approval of the state senate and is responsible for a state department charged with advising the various other departments and agencies of state government. The Attorney General is responsible for the prosecution of offenses under state law. The Attorney General can only be removed by an act of the state senate. In rare occasions, the Attorney General serves as acting governor in the absence of both the governor and lieutenant governor from the state for an extended period of time.

Attorney General of Hawaii
Loio Kuhina
Incumbent
Anne E. Lopez
since December 5, 2022
Department of the Attorney General
TypeChief legal officer and chief law enforcement officer
AppointerGovernor of Hawaii
FormationFebruary 27, 1844
First holderJohn Ricord
Politics of Hawaii
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Inferior jurisdictions
Federal representation

The office has existed in several forms throughout the history of the Hawaiian Islands. It was created by Kamehameha III and was part of the administration of each successive monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The office was kept in the provisional government, after Liliuokalani and the monarchy was overthrown, and became a part of the succeeding administration of the Republic of Hawaii. A regular part of the American model of the executive branch of government, the office of attorney general was part of the Territory of Hawaii under Section 80 of the Hawaiian Organic Act and made an appointed office after statehood was achieved in 1959.

Though a non-partisan office, in territorial days the office of Attorney General was traditionally appointed from the political party of the sitting President of the United States who appointed the territorial governor. Similarly in statehood, the office of Attorney General has traditionally been appointed from the incumbent governor's political party, thus far Republican or Democratic.

The current Attorney General is Anne E. Lopez, who was appointed by Governor Josh Green. The Hawaii Senate confirmed Lopez's nomination on December 5, 2022.[1]

Agencies

The Attorney General leads a department of 180 attorneys and 500 professional and support personnel. The department oversees various public services. These include administering the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, running the Missing Child Center, Child Support Enforcement Agency, Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Hawaii Internet and Technology Crimes Unit, Office of Child Support Hearings, Tobacco Enforcement Unit, among others.[2] In accordance with Chapter 846E of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Criminal Justice Data Center maintains a registry of sex offenders in the state.[3] Likewise, the agency provides other criminal history information through the statewide criminal history record information system and Automated Fingerprint Identification System.[4]

History

Origins
Prussian-born Paul Neumann served as Attorney General of Hawaii under Liliuokalani. In Washington, D.C., he argued against the overthrow of the monarchy. He later defended the deposed queen in trial for misprision of treason. She was convicted.
William Owen Smith (third from left) was Attorney General of the provisional government and succeeding Republic of Hawaii. From left to right: Interior Minister James A. King, President Sanford B. Dole, Smith, Finance Minister Peter Cushman Jones.
Herbert Young Cho Choy served as a territorial Attorney General. He was the first Korean American to be admitted to the bar and the first Asian American to serve as Federal judge. During his tenure on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, there were no other Asians sitting on any Federal bench.

John Ricord served as the first Attorney General of Hawaii. He arrived in the Kingdom on February 27, 1844, on the Columbia. He was the first Western-trained lawyer in the islands.[5][6] The previous year a land dispute by Richard Charlton led to a British occupation known as the Paulet Affair. A related case of Ladd & Co. required lengthy arbitration. These cases would consume his entire time on the islands.[7] Within a few weeks he swore allegiance to Kamehameha III and on March 9, 1844, was appointed first Attorney General. In July 1845 he joined the Privy Council.[8] On October 29, 1845, the executive branch of the government was formally organized through legislation he proposed. On May 17, 1847, he resigned all his offices, and on June 12 was released from his oath of allegiance, so he could resume his citizenship of the United States.[8] He left August 19, 1847.[9] The office of Attorney General was suspended until the 1860s.[10] His work on organizing the courts was taken over by the second trained attorney to arrive in the islands, William Little Lee.

Revival

On August 26, 1862, Kamehameha IV revived the office and appointed Charles Coffin Harris as Attorney General.[11] Having an attorney general proved useful on constitutional matters. Kamehameha V insisted on a new constitution that would restore some of the power to the monarchy that had been lost over time. Harris issued his legal opinion that the king had such a right and produced an early draft. A constitutional convention failed to reach agreement, so Harris got the cabinet to negotiate directly with Kamehameha V leading to the promulgation of the 1864 Constitution.[12]

Controversies

A more modern controversy happened with the failed 1998 confirmation by the state senate of popular sitting Attorney General Margery Bronster, as political payback for her actions to reform the corrupt Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate whose trustees were friends of various powerful legislators, many Hawaiʻi residents called for the right to elect the attorney general. Several attempts failed to create the constitutional amendment.

List of attorneys general

The attorneys general with dates of service:[11]

Kingdom of Hawaii
Name Portrait Term start Term end
John Ricord
March 9, 1844 May 17, 1847
Charles Coffin Harris
August 26, 1862 December 21, 1865
Charles Coffin Harris (acting)
March 26, 1866 September 12, 1866
Stephen Henry Phillips
September 12, 1866 January 10, 1873
Albert Francis Judd
January 13, 1873 February 19, 1874
Alfred S. Hartwell
February 18, 1874 May 28, 1874
Richard H. Stanley May 28, 1874 November 5, 1875
John Smith Walker
November 5, 1875 February 15, 1876
William Richards Castle
February 15, 1876 December 5, 1876
Alfred S. Hartwell
December 5, 1876 July 3, 1878
Edward Preston
July 13, 1878 August 14, 1880
W. Claude Jones
August 14, 1880 September 27, 1880
John Smith Walker
September 27, 1880 November 29, 1880
William Nevins Armstrong
November 29, 1880 January 17, 1881
Henry A. P. Carter
January 17, 1881 November 5, 1881
William Nevins Armstrong
November 5, 1881 May 19, 1882
Edward Preston
May 19, 1882 May 14, 1883
Walter M. Gibson (acting)
May 14, 1883 December 14, 1883
Paul Neumann
December 14, 1883 June 30, 1886
Walter M. Gibson (ad interim)
September 18, 1884 August 3, 1885
John T. Dare
July 1, 1886 October 13, 1886
John Lot Kaulukou
October 13, 1886 October 23, 1886
Antone Rosa
November 15, 1886 June 28, 1887
Clarence W. Ashford
July 1, 1887 June 14, 1890
Arthur P. Peterson
June 17, 1890 February 25, 1891
William A. Whiting
February 25, 1891 July 27, 1892
Paul Neumann
August 29, 1892 August 30, 1892
Paul Neumann
September 12, 1892 October 17, 1892
Charles F. Creighton
November 1, 1892 November 8, 1892
Cecil Brown
November 8, 1892 January 12, 1893
Arthur P. Peterson
January 13, 1893 January 17, 1893

Republic of Hawaii
Name Portrait Term start Term end
William Owen Smith
January 17, 1893 October 25, 1895
Francis M. Hatch (interim)
October 25, 1895 November 6, 1895
Henry E. Cooper (interim)
November 6, 1895 December 13, 1895
William Owen Smith
December 13, 1895 February 10, 1897
Henry E. Cooper (interim)
February 10, 1897 April 11, 1897
William Owen Smith
April 11, 1897 March 20, 1899

Territory of Hawaii
  • Henry Ernest Cooper, 1899–1900
  • Edmund Pearson Dole, 1900–1903
  • Lorrin Andrews, 1903–1905 (grandson of missionary Lorrin Andrews)
  • Emil C. Peters, 1905–1907
  • Charles R. Hemenway, 1907–1910
  • Alexander Lindsay Jr., 1910–1912
  • Wade Warren Thayer, 1913–1914
  • Ingram M. Stainback, 1914–1918
  • Arthur G. Smith, 1918
  • Harry Irwin, 1918–1922
  • John A. Matthewman, 1922–1925
  • William B. Lymer, 1925–1928
  • Harry P. Hewitt, 1928–1934
  • William B. Pittman, 1934–1936
  • S. B. Kemp, 1937–1938
  • Joseph V. Hodgson, 1938–1942
  • Ernest K. Kai, 1942
  • J. Garner Anthony, 1942–1943
  • Cyrus Nils Tavares, 1944–1947
  • Walter D. Ackerman Jr., 1947–1952
  • Michiro Watanabe, 1952–1953
  • Edward N. Sylva, 1953–1956
  • Richard K. Sharpless, 1956–1957
  • Shiro Kashiwa, 1957
  • Herbert Young Cho Choy, 1957–1958
  • Jack H. Mizuha, 1958–1959

State of Hawaii

See also

References
  1. "New AG on the Block: Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez". Troutman Pepper. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. Attorney General's Office
  3. Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center Sex Offender Search
  4. Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center
  5. Jon M. Van Dyke (2008). Who owns the Crown lands of Hawaii?. University of Hawaii Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8248-3211-7.
  6. Frear, Walter F. (1894). "Evolution of the Hawaiian Judiciary". Papers of the Hawaiian Historical Society. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society (7). hdl:10524/966.
  7. John Ricord; Stephen H. Williams; James F. B. Marshall (1846). Report of the proceedings and evidence in the arbitration between the King and Government of the Hawaiian Islands and Messrs. Ladd & Co., before Messrs. Stephen H. Williams & James F. B. Marshall, arbitrators under compact. C.E. Hitchcock, printer, Hawaiian Government press.
  8. "Ricord, John office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  9. "Passport records". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  10. "Attorney General's Department - Organization of" (PDF). state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  11. "Attorney General, office record" (PDF). state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  12. Phillip H. Harris (1993). "Charles Coffin Harris: An Uncommon Life in the Law". Hawaiian Journal of History. Hawaiian Historical Society. hdl:10524/224.
  13. Dowson, Kapono (June 21, 2002). "Kimi Amemiya, 96, led family of achievers". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
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