LIHUE — The Lihue Business Association’s monthly breakfast program continues with “Speaking for the prosecution” from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday upstairs at Duke’s Canoe Club in Kalapaki. It is free and open to the public. County Prosecuting Attorney Justin
LIHUE — The Lihue Business Association’s monthly breakfast program continues with “Speaking for the prosecution” from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday upstairs at Duke’s Canoe Club in Kalapaki. It is free and open to the public.
County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar will provide an overview of the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. Kollar manages a $3.9 million annual budget with 41 employees, including 14 deputy prosecuting attorneys. He will discuss goals, challenges and rewards with work in the criminal justice system.
OPA handles criminal cases in Kauai District Court. It also prepares appeal cases for the state Intermediary Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court. The prosecuting attorneys prepare and provide legislative testimony in support or opposition to bills affecting public safety.
“Justice is a fundamental component of a safe, prosperous, compassionate community,” said Lihue Business Association President Pat Griffin. “A capable prosecuting attorney’s office works to protect those values as it assures the fair and impartial application of justice. We should all know about its diverse responsibilities.”
Kollar was elected county prosecuting attorney in November 2012. He was a deputy prosecuting attorney after moving to Kauai from Honolulu in 2008, and then a deputy county attorney assigned to the Kauai Police Department until running for prosecutor in 2012.
Kollar attended Boston University and Suffolk University Law School and is a member of the Hawaii and Massachusetts Bar Associations. He worked for the city of Boston as an assistant corporation counsel before coming to Hawaii in 2006 when he clerked for the Honorable Daniel R. Foley of the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals until 2007.
He will be joined at the LBA meeting by office assistant Ihilani Laureta Kali.
“We’ll be there to talk a little about how our office runs, the trends we are seeing, and to answer any questions from the business community,” Kollar said.
Info: patgriffin@hawaiiantel.net.
