LIHU‘E — Harold C. Spear III has changed attorneys for his new state trial set for Sept. 17. Last week, Judge Kathleen N. A. Watanabe of the 5th Circuit granted the motion of defense attorney Charles Foster to withdraw as
LIHU‘E — Harold C. Spear III has changed attorneys for his new state trial set for Sept. 17.
Last week, Judge Kathleen N. A. Watanabe of the 5th Circuit granted the motion of defense attorney Charles Foster to withdraw as counsel. She then appointed Honolulu attorney Nelson W. S. Goo as his replacement.
Foster was the appointed counsel since April, when State Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Sato entered a motion for her office to withdraw. After her motion for Spear to withdraw his guilty plea was granted, Sato said the new case presented a conflict of interest for her office.
At a May hearing Foster presented motions regarding exculpatory evidence that he said were not made available to the defense prior to Spear’s guilty plea on March 31, 2010.
Foster has since accepted a position as a Kaua‘i County deputy prosecuting attorney. He will be working on appeals cases.
Hawai‘i Deputy Attorney General Gary Senaga did not object to the motion for replacement counsel.
Spear is a physician accused of illegally prescribing medications through his Hanapepe clinic in 2008. He is currently serving a 12-year federal prison term for similar charges on O‘ahu.
After being arraigned in Circuit Court on March 17, 2009, the state case was delayed until the federal case was resolved this past March. The new state case moves forward on two counts of felony prohibited acts, each with a maximum sentence of 5 years each.
