by Andrew Walden
Why is the Hawaii Attorney General too busy to prosecute charter school corruption?
After 16 months of delays emanating from the AG’s office, on April 23, 2019 Circuit Judge Glenn Kim tossed the State’s case against Laara Allbrett. The former director of the now-shuttered Halau Lokahi Public Charter School evaded prosecution, “because the state took too long to take the case to trial.”
What was the Attorney General’s office busy with?
Current AG Claire Connors took office January 3, 2019. Since then, 27 out of 32 AG’s news releases have involved national matters. Many are announcements of multi-state lawsuits against President Trump. Only five relate to local or state issues.
Connors is Governor Ige’s third AG. Ige’s first AG, Douglas Chin, flamed out after suing Trump so much that he thought he could get himself elected to Congress. He announced his campaign December 18, 2017 and left office February 2, 2018. This is also when the AG’s office began seeking delays in the Allbrett case.
The day after the allegedly corrupt charter school director evaded justice, Connors’ office sent out yet another nationally-themed news release--ironically calling on Congress to do something about … corrupt educational institutions.
Here it is:
04/24/2019: Hawaii Attorney General Joins 20-State Coalition Urging U.S. House Committees to Protect Student Veterans from Exploitation by For-Profit Schools
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Bumbling Attorney General Office Helps Charter School Principal Evade Justice
Star-Advertiser, June 13, 2019: …. A state judge has permanently dismissed felony theft charges against the ousted director of the now-defunct Halau Lokahi Public Charter School because the state took too long to take the case to trial.
The state Attorney General charged Laara Allbrett in October 2017 with four counts of second-degree theft for expenditures she made using school money. Each charge is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
The theft charges were the culmination of a nearly three-year investigation into more than $101,000 of questionable school payments and purchases made in 2013 and 2014. The expenditures included $11,747 paid to Allbrett’s daughter, Jewal; $6,760 to a psychic healer on Kauai; and $21,347 to someone for services ranging from plumbing and public relations to office maintenance. The purchases also included $6,618 for food supplies from Costco, Sam’s Club, Foodland, Walmart and 7-Eleven, even though the Kalihi school did not provide food services to its students….
In the end, the state charged Allbrett with theft for using the school’s debit card to purchase a healing light pad for her son, Varner, for $462; for medical treatment at the Holistic Medical Center of Hawaii for $360; for a three-month supply of a health supplement for $427; and to pay the $940 round-trip airfare for Allbrett and some family members to attend Varner’s graduation at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
The deputy attorney general who was handling the case informed Allbrett’s lawyer in November 2017 that he was going to be late in handing over the investigation material because there were more than 45,000 pages. The deputy retired at the end of December 2017 without delivering any of the material.
Allbrett’s trial was originally scheduled for the second week of January 2018. Six days before the trial date the state declared it was not ready, so the court rescheduled it to the first week of March. One week before the March trial date the state said it was still not ready because the new deputy assigned to the case only had it for three weeks.
Based on the state’s last declaration, the court rescheduled the trial to April 30, 2018, two days beyond the time required for the state to provide Allbrett her constitutional right to a speedy trial. On that date Allbrett’s lawyer filed papers asking the court to dismiss the case.
On April 23, 2019, nearly a year after Allbrett’s lawyer made the request, now- retired Circuit Judge Glenn Kim signed an order dismissing all four charges. He left open the possibility for the state to refile the airfare theft charge but closed the door on the three other charges….
read … Scot-Free
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Here is a list of things the State Attorney General DID do while letting charter school corruption prosecution slip….
(We highlighted the state and local issues.)
06/14/2019: Attorney General Clare E. Connors Seeks Preliminary Injunction Against the Trump Administration to Stop Health Care Discrimination
06/12/2019: Attorney General Connors Joins Amicus Brief Opposing the Federal Government’s Request for Emergency Stay of Preliminary Injunction in Sierra Club v. Trump
06/03/2019: Attorney General Connors Sues Opioid Manufacturers and Distributors
05/24/2019: Attorney General Connors Joins Coalition Calling for Automatic Discharge of Student Loans for Totally and Permanently Disabled Veterans
05/24/2019: Attorney General Asks Congress to Hold Internet Service Providers Accountable, Ensure States Maintain Right to Stop Criminal Violations of State Law
05/23/2019: Hawaii Continues Fight to Protect the Affordable Care Act
05/21/2019: Hawaii Joins Coalition of 23 Cities and States Suing Trump Administration to Stop Rule Allowing Discrimination in Providing Health Care
05/16/2019: Attorney General Clare E. Connors Joins Multistate Coalition before the Ninth Circuit Court to Protect Asylum-Seekers
05/13/2019: Hawaii Joins 43 Jurisdictions in Antitrust Lawsuit Against TEVA Pharmaceuticals and 19 Other Generic Drug Manufacturers in Conspiracy to Fix Prices and Allocate Markets for More Than 100 Different Generic Drugs
05/10/2019: Attorney General Clare E. Connors Joins 18 States and the District of Columbia in Urging Congress to Reject Trump Administration’s Proposed “Punishing” Cuts to EPA’s Budget
05/09/2019: Attorney General Connors Joins Coalition of 38 States Urging Congress to Pass Legislation Allowing Marijuana-related Business to Access the Banking System
05/01/2019: 42 State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Fund Legal Services Corporation
04/24/2019: Hawaii Attorney General Joins 20-State Coalition Urging U.S. House Committees to Protect Student Veterans from Exploitation by For-Profit Schools
(Charter school case thrown out.)
04/17/2019: National Take Back Initiative on Saturday, April 27, 2019 National Take Back Initiative Flyer
04/16/2019: 20 Attorneys General Declare Support For D.C. Statehood For the First Time
04/12/2019: Attorney General Clare E. Connors Joins Multistate Amicus Brief to Protect Women’s Reproductive Rights
04/05/2019: Attorney General Clare E. Connors Files Motion to Block Diversion of Funds and Resources for Construction of a Border Wall
04/04/2019: Attorney General Clare E. Connors Joins Multi-State Amicus Brief Protecting Women’s Access to Abortion Services
04/03/2019: AG Connors Joins 21 States and Territories in Opposing USDA Rule That Would Unlawfully Strip Residents of Food Stamp Benefits
03/27/2019: Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Hawaii
03/25/2019: Hawaii Attorney General Joins Multi-State Brief to Stop Roll Back of Contraceptive Coverage Mandate
03/25/2019: Hawaii Attorney General Joins Coalition of 21 Attorneys General in Filing Opening Brief in Texas v. US
03/19/2019: Hawaii Attorney General Defends Evidence Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
03/19/2019: Hawaii Attorney General Opposes CFPB Effort to Delay Protections from Payday Lenders
03/13/2019: Four Additional Attorneys General Join Lawsuit Challenging President Trump’s Unfounded Declaration of a National Emergency
03/07/2019: Attorney General Statement Regarding Honolulu Prosecutor’s Decision to Step Down
03/05/2019: Hawaii Attorney General Supports Enactment of the TRACED Act
03/05/2019: 21 Attorneys General Challenge New Title X Restrictions on Women’s Reproductive Health Care
02/19/2019: Attorney General Clare E. Connors Joins Lawsuit Challenging President Trump’s Contrived Declaration of National Emergency at the Southern Border
02/12/2019: ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF THE HONOLULU PROSECUTOR
02/12/2019: MEDIA ADVISORY – MEDIA AVAILABILITY REGARDING FILING OF PETITION REQUESTING IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF THE HONOLULU PROSECUTOR
01/14/2019: Hawaii Secures Injunction Halting Trump Administration’s Attempt to Limit Birth Control Access