Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 7, 1 July 2020 — PROSECUTING ATTORNEY [ARTICLE]

PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

ANSWER KEY: 03 BQ Q1 | Environmental crimes are often difficult to prosecute for many reasons, including the variety and unfamiliarity of our environmental laws, the unique types of evidence needed to convict, and a relative disconnect hetween state investigators and resource enforcement officers and the various county prosecutors' offices. Would you commit to ensuring greater collaboration between the prosecutor's office and state agencies and enforcement officers in the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes? Q2 | Native Hawaiians are disproportionately represented in every stage of the criminaljustice process, including in arrest rates. prosecution and conviction rates, and lengths of sentences imposed. Other ethnic groups may be similarly impacted. Would you support a review of the law enforcement process to identify potential causes of racial and ethnic disparities in our criminal justice system? Q3 | Do you support expanding "diversion" programs that provide alternatives to incarceration or criminal records for nonviolent offenders suffering from addiction or mental health issues? Q4 | Cash hail has been criticized as allowing wealthy defendants to "buy" their release from jail or prison, while depriving poor defendants of their freedom due to their inability to pay. Would you support the consideration of a defendants' ability to pay as a factor in determining whether reduced bail or alternatives to cash bail should be pursued Q5 | Would you support eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing for drug and related crimes that force judges to impose minimum prison terms regardless of the circumstances?