And Kaneshiro may have misrepresented the law when he criticized another judge for releasing a man just sentenced to the state's stiffest term of life without parole, that defendant's attorney said.
But Kaneshiro defended his comments, made yesterday in a news conference in which he said the sentences made a mockery of justice and put the public's safety in jeopardy.
Kaneshiro said Circuit Judge Sandra Simms should have sentenced admitted pedophile Lawrence Norton, 56, to the maximum five years in prison.
Norton pleaded no contest in December to third-degree sexual assault for allegedly fondling an 11-year-old girl's breast in his classroom.
Kaneshiro also criticized Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario for approving the supervised release for Russell P.L. Cullen, 48, a terminally ill man convicted of first-degree attempted murder in a 1993 incident in which he killed one person.
Clifford Hunt, Norton's attorney, said Simms on Monday sealed records of Norton's past and that Kaneshiro likely violated her order when he discussed the number of sexual assaults.
Kaneshiro said Simms knew at the time of sentencing that Norton admitted to molesting more than two dozen children, many while he was a teacher.
Hunt said Simms on Wednesday denied his motion to order the prosecutor's office from disseminating any of the information.
In a transcript from the hearing, Simms said she didn't need to issue an order, saying the prosecutor's office was aware of court rules regarding the dissemination of presentence reports.
Deputy Prosecutor Barry Kemp acknowledged that he was aware of the court's order and its implications, adding: "I have no intention other than complying with the court's order."
Simms said she understood Hunt's concern that the records remain sealed: "But I assure you that Mr. Kemp and his office will certainly be doing that."
Kaneshiro, in response to whether he violated a court order, said: "I spoke the truth and I'll stand by it."
Cullen's attorney, Myles Breiner, said Del Rosario did not act out of sympathy for Cullen, who has leukemia and is expected to live for six to 12 months.
"This is about applying the law," Breiner said, explaining that Del Rosario followed the standards to justify supervised release.
He said the state did not offer witnesses to show that Cullen was a danger to the community or a flight risk.
Deputy Prosecutor Lance Goto had argued that Cullen had a 1972 manslaughter conviction, was mobile and could fire a gun.
Breiner also said Del Rosario ruled that Cullen's appeal raised substantial issues and could prevail.
He said an appeal is coming because the judge didn't give jury certain instructions.
The instructions would have required the state to prove that Cullen's first-degree attempted murder charge stemmed from a common plan. Cullen was convicted for his role in the murder of Carolina Ching and attempted murder of Robin Saya in the Kukio Plaza parking garage.
He said the standard for first-degree offenses now requires the common-plan instructions and that the prosecutor played a role in the new standards as well as Cullen's release.
"If they hadn't opposed the original instruction, he wouldn't have been released," he said.
Marsha Kitagawa, the Judiciary's public affairs director, said the judges' code of ethics prevents them from speaking on any case pending before the court.
Norton faces five new third-degree sexual assault counts for allegedly touching the buttocks of two girls below the age of 14 on five occasions from September 1993 to January 1995.