Attorney receives
10 days in jailEdward Chun is the first
to face time in the Harris
campaign abuse investigation
A state judge sentenced prominent local attorney Edward Chun to 10 days in jail, making him the first person to be given jail time as a result of the two-year criminal investigation into Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign.
In a hearing yesterday, Circuit Judge Steven Alm also gave the 72-year-old Chun a year of probation and ordered him to pay a $200 fine and contribute $50 to the state Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
Chun will not have to serve his prison term until after Dec. 29, Alm said. The sentence also would be stayed once Chun files an appeal with the state Supreme Court.
"The conviction here for campaign finance abuse is a serious matter," Alm said. "I cannot overlook ... the potential harm to the electoral system."
Chun pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of advising two employees of longtime client Food Pantry Ltd. to contribute $1,000 above the legal limit to the Harris campaign.
Chun made no comment after Alm issued his sentence yesterday. But prior to the ruling, Chun told the court that he accepted responsibility for his action and apologized to friends in the community and in the legal profession.
Chun's attorney, Dale Lee, argued against a jail sentence, saying the campaign spending violations involved isolated incidents in a distinguished legal career that spans 40 years. He cited letters submitted to the court from 16 supporters attesting to integrity.
Lee said it is unfair that Chun is the only person to receive jail time for violating the state's campaign finance laws.
Previous targets of the Harris investigation -- SSFM International Inc. Chief Executive Officer Michael Matsumoto and former Honolulu Police Commissioner Leonard Leong -- pleaded no contest to similar charges and were given a chance by other judges to have their criminal cases dismissed if they stay out of trouble.
Lee said he plans to appeal Chun's sentence as well as the judge's refusal to disqualify himself from the case. Lee filed a motion in September for Alm's recusal after Alm said during a recent status conference that he was inclined to issue a jail sentence. Alm denied the motion, saying such pre-plea discussions do not indicate a personal bias.
"I think the judge made up his mind," Lee said. "The imposition of a prison term would suggest, in our minds, that justice is not meted out on an evenhanded basis."
Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee praised Alm's sentence for recognizing the "seriousness" of the crimes involved.
Any time a person undermines the electoral process, he hurts the community, and once that happens people lose faith in the process and do not vote, Randal Lee said.
"The court indicated that the electoral process is a very fundamental right that the community has," said Randal Lee.
Alm could have sentenced Chun to a maximum of a year in prison plus a fine of up to $2,000.
Chun also faces potential sanctions from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which oversees lawyers' conduct. If his conviction is upheld by the state Supreme Court, the office can begin an investigation and hold hearings on the matter.
Chun, a founding partner in the Chun Kerr Dodd Beaman & Wong law firm, is a former director of the state bar association.
On May 20 an Oahu grand jury indicted Chun for advising two Food Pantry employees, Darcy Takushi and Andrew Kawano, to donate a total of $5,000 to the Harris campaign in February 2000. Food Pantry provided the money for the donations.
Under state law a donor can give no more than $4,000 to a candidate in a mayoral race. Donors also are barred from making political donations under false names.
In his plea agreement, Chun admitted that he advised the workers to make the excessive contributions and said he was unaware the donations violated the law. But Chun conceded that he acted recklessly by not consulting the state's campaign finance laws before giving the advice.
The company's top executives were not asked by Chun to contribute to the Harris campaign because Chun did not want their names on a "mooch list" kept by various local campaign officials for potential donors, Dale Lee said.