Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 10, 1 October 2020 — PROSECUTING ATTORNEY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

1 1 Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in every stage of the criminal justice process, including in arrest rates and in our prison population. Moreover, controlling for many eommon factors including type of charge, an OHA study revealed that Native Hawaiians were more likely to be found guilty, receive a prison sentence, and receive a longer prison sentence or probation term than most other ethnic groups. As prosecutor, what would you do, if anything, to investigate and address possible systemic biases against Native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups in our criminal justice system? 2 | What are your plans, if any, to explore alternatives for defendants that ean more effectively ensure their eomplianee with the law, includlng by addresslng underlying issues such as mental health or substance abuse challenges? 3 | A wldespread CŪVID-19 outbreak resulting from overcrowded correctlonal facilities wlll not only threaten the health and safety of our pa'ahao [prisoners] and puhlie safety staff, but may also decrease the number of available hospital beds and lead to a shortage of desperately needed medical resources, impactlng the broader community. What role ean the prosecutor play to prevent such an outcome? 4 1 Despite the Governor's emergency proclamatlon prohibiting eviction actions during this pandemic, landlords have continued to illegally seek to evict their tenants. In some cases, unlawful eviction notices, harassment, and intimidation have led to famllies abandoning thelr places of residence, forcing them to live in even more crowded condltions or even on the streets, amidst a pandemic. As prosecutor, would you seek to enforce all aspecfs of the Governor's emergency orders includlng and partlcularly wlth respect to his prohlbitlon on eviction actions?