Hawaii Attorney General


The attorney general of Hawaii 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.
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 Party|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.

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. In accordance with Chapter 846E of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Criminal Justice Data Center maintains a registry of sex offenders in the state. Likewise, the agency provides other criminal history information through the statewide criminal history record information system and Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

History

Origins

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.
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. 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.
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.
He left August 19, 1847.
The office of attorney general was suspended until the 1860s.
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. 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.

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 Hawaii 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:

Territory of Hawaii

NamePortraitTerm startTerm endTerritorial governor served under
Henry Ernest CooperMarch 20, 1899June 14, 1900-
Edmund Pearson DoleJune 14, 1900February 1, 1903Sanford B. Dole
Lorrin Andrews
February 1, 1903November 21, 1905George R. Carter
Emil C. PetersNovember 21, 1905August 15, 1907George R. Carter
Charles R. HemenwayAugust 15, 1907January 30, 1910Walter F. Frear
Alexander Lindsay Jr.January 30, 1910December 31, 1912Walter F. Frear
Wade Warren ThayerJanuary 1, 1913April 16, 1914Walter F. Frear
Lucius E. Pinkham
Ingram M. StainbackApril 17, 1914April 18, 1918Lucius E. Pinkham
Arthur G. SmithApril 18, 1918August 30, 1918Lucius E. Pinkham
Charles J. McCarthy
Harry IrwinAugust 30, 1918August 31, 1922Charles J. McCarthy
Wallace Rider Farrington
John A. MatthewmanSeptember 1, 1922March 26, 1925Wallace Rider Farrington
William B. LymerMarch 27, 1925June 20, 1928Wallace Rider Farrington
Harry P. HewittJune 21, 1928April 30, 1934Wallace Rider Farrington
Lawrence M. Judd
William B. PittmanMay 1, 1934December 20, 1936Lawrence M. Judd
Joseph Poindexter
Joseph V. Hodgson ActingFebruary 15, 1935February 15, 1935Joseph Poindexter
S. B. KempJanuary 2, 1937June 30, 1938Joseph Poindexter
Joseph V. HodgsonJuly 1, 1938June 7, 1942Joseph Poindexter
Ernest K. KaiJune 8, 1942October 4, 1942Joseph Poindexter
Ingram Stainback
J. Garner AnthonyOctober 4, 1942December 31, 1943Ingram Stainback
Cyrus Nils TavaresJanuary 1, 1944June 30, 1947Ingram Stainback
Rhoda Valentine Lewis ActingJuly 1, 1947October 13, 1947Ingram Stainback
Walter D. Ackerman Jr.October 14, 1947February 29, 1952Ingram Stainback
Oren E. Long
Michiro WatanabeMarch 1, 1952March 2, 1953Oren E. Long
Samuel Wilder King
Edward N. SylvaMarch 3, 1953November 14, 1956Samuel Wilder King
Richard K. SharplessNovember 15, 1956May 7, 1957Samuel Wilder King
Shiro KashiwaMay 8, 1957June 8, 1957Samuel Wilder King
Herbert Young Cho ChoyJune 13, 1957November 30, 1958Samuel Wilder King
William F. Quinn
Jack H. MizuhaDecember 16, 19581959William F. Quinn

State of Hawaii

Attorney generalImageTerm of officeState governor served under
Jack H. Mizuha1959William F. Quinn
Shiro Kashiwa1959–1960William F. Quinn
Bert Kobayashi1962–1969John A. Burns
Bertram Kanbara1969–1971John A. Burns
George T. H. Pai1971John A. Burns
Ronald Amemiya1974–1978George Ariyoshi
Wayne Minami1978–1981George Ariyoshi
Tany S. Hong1981–1984George Ariyoshi
Michael A. Lilly1984–1985George Ariyoshi
Corinne Watanabe1985–1986George Ariyoshi
Warren Price, III1986–1992John D. Waiheʻe III
Robert A. Marks1992–1994John D. Waiheʻe III
Robert A. Marks1994–1995Ben Cayetano
Margery Bronster1995–1998Ben Cayetano
Earl I. Anzai1999–2002Ben Cayetano
Mark J. Bennett2003–2010Linda Lingle
David M. Louie2011–2014Neil Abercrombie
Russell Suzuki 2014–2015David Ige
Doug Chin2015–2018David Ige
Russell Suzuki2018–2019David Ige
Clare E. Connors2019–2021David Ige
Holly Shikada2021–2022David Ige
Anne E. Lopez2022–presentJosh Green