Letters for Saturday, April 24, 2010

• Prosecutor responds to Klimkowski’s letter • Thanks for help on visit of Philippine consul

Prosecutor responds to Klimkowski’s letter

This letter is written in response to Andy Klimkowski’s editorial (letter) dated 4/23/10.

Aloha Mr. Klimkowski,

I was quite surprised to see your comments regarding my request for additional staff, as it must be quite evident that you haven’t read the news of the numerous cases that our office handles and the outstanding conviction rates that we have received, despite the fact that there has been no increase in county deputy prosecuting attorney positions for the past decade. Yes, the past decade. Because of this, it is no wonder that you can ask any former deputy prosecutor or staff member that has worked, or currently works, at the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney (OPA) under my administration, that the caseload of the attorneys and the clerical staff has been close to unmanageable because of the volume and the complexity of cases. This of course is part of the reason for the departure of the deputy county attorneys. Further, I would note that the exodus of attorneys is not something unusual. The last administration experienced the same exodus with numerous attorneys leaving the office. As I have said many times, this job is not for the inexperienced, nor those who are not willing to work 60-70 hours a week, without overtime pay.

When I took office, the OPA was in total chaos. There wasn’t even a legitimate case-tracking system to inform the attorneys which cases were coming up for hearings. The case files were scattered throughout the office, under desks, behind drawers, and other hidden areas. There were hundreds of backlogged cases that had not been prosecuted, including sexual assaults, robberies, assaults, thefts, embezzlements, negligent homicides, abuse of family members. There were over a thousand bench warrants and penal summons that were not served. I say this not to lay blame to the last prosecutor as there is only so much one can do with the limited resources one has, but to shed light on the deficient resources available to keep the community safe and to obtain justice for the victims.  

Even worse, the downward spiral in the economy has resulted in crime rates skyrocketing exponentially. Judiciary statistics show that felony cases have increased 42% and juvenile cases have increased 148% from the last administration compared to my administration. Yet, there has been no increase in attorney staff. In comparison to other jurisdictions, Maui has 25 county deputy prosecuting attorneys, Big Island has 27 and Kaua‘i has less than 6. On average the case loads of Kaua‘i County prosecuting attorneys are 5,639; Maui, 2,629; Big Island 3,516. Each attorney on Kaua‘i handles twice as much cases as on Maui and 62% more than the Big Island. The legal-clerk staff on the other islands are magnanimous compared to Kaua‘i. Maui has 22 legal clerks, Big Island 25 legal clerks and Kaua‘i less than 7. The average amount of cases handled by each legal clerk for Maui is 2,987, Big Island 3,812 and Kauai 5,027. Again, Kaua‘i far exceeds the amount of cases that it has to process, compared to the work that other county legal clerks are tasked with. The deficient staff numbers are staggering yet, despite the lack of the staff, our office has far excelled in conviction rates, achieving a 93% conviction rate in one of our most difficult type of cases, domestic abuse (I would be happy to share other conviction rates, however, I am not here to “toot my horn” but to simply provide facts that you seem to not be aware of).

The Kaua‘i OPA is unlike any office in the neighboring rural counties. This is the only county in which the prosecutor handles a full caseload of the most-heinous crimes, murders and sexual assaults. On Maui and the Big Island, the prosecutor is an administrative officer; none of them prosecute cases or go to court. I don’t have that luxury. I will do these heinous cases and any other case that my attorneys need help in. I am in court usually 4 times a week. That is unique in comparison to other jurisdictions. I also handle over 100 e-mails a day, prepare legislation and testimonies, and attend numerous meetings throughout the week.

Being born and raised on this island, I care deeply of the safety of this community. Please understand that I am merely doing my job in seeking resources to ensure that people are safe and victims are given the justice that they deserve. I would be happy to discuss any further concerns you may have and look forward to you contacting me at scarvalho@kauai.gov.

Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, County prosecuting attorney

Thanks for help on visit of Philippine consul

I wanted to acknowledge Consul General Leo Cardenas, Consul Paul Cortes and his team for going out of their way and spending their weekend helping our kababayans this Saturday. The turnout was great, there were over 200 people showed up who were able to renew their Philippine passports, process their dual citizenship and able to ask questions.

To the volunteers, Nenita Alquisalas, Barbara and John Morrison, Lani, Mitchell and Cheryl Ouye, Dickie Jaca, Conrada Espanol, Carol Mapue, Celia Questin, Domie Bucasas and Angel Acorda, thank you for your endurance in working long hours from 6 a.m. till 9:30 p.m. It was a hectic day but yet you showed patience and calm. Also, this program will not be made possible without the assistance from the County of Kaua‘i and the Mayor’s Office, Paul Curtis of The Garden Island newspaper, KONG Radio, FM97, to various hotels and resorts, Filipino establishments and many others for their assistance in getting the word out.

Thanks to those who donated their time and money to make this program a success.

Once again, taos puso kaming nagpasalamat (heartfelt thanks).

Evelyn D. Basnillo, Puhi