The trial of Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and her alleged associates in a criminal conspiracy won’t be happening anytime soon.
In July, the corruption trial of Luke and four others — lobbyist Tobi Solidum, former state Rep. Ryan Yamane, state Airports Administrator Ford Fuchigami and former Public Utilities Commission chair Leodoloff Asuncion Jr. — was scheduled to begin on Sept. 28, after four of the five defendants, excluding Solidum, pled not guilty.
But on Friday, that trial was pushed back a year, after attorneys for multiple defendants requested additional time to prepare.
Back on Aug. 6, Yamane’s attorney William Harrison filed a motion to continue the trial on a later date, as the discovery phase — in which both sides prepare witnesses and evidence to be presented at trial — had not yet begun and the breadth of the case made it exceedingly unlikely that the process could be completed on schedule.
Other attorneys, including Fuchigami’s lawyer Eric Seitz and Luke’s lawyer Richard Sing, co-signed Harrison’s motion.
At a hearing Friday, attorneys proposed that the trial be delayed by a year or more, suggesting varying dates between June and October of 2027. Prosecutor and Deputy Attorney General David Van Acker did not protest, although Judge Paul B. K. Wong did not land on a specific date Friday; an exact date will be determined at a scheduling conference next Wednesday.
By Wednesday, Fuchigami will also need to decide whether to keep Seitz as his attorney. Van Acker filed a motion in August arguing that Seitz has a conflict of interest in the case, having previously represented state Department of Health Deputy Director Cathy Ross, who will be a witness for the prosecution in the case.
Van Acker said Friday that Ross is not a minor figure in the case, having been the last person to meet with Solidum before his fateful 2022 meeting with Luke and former Hawai‘i Rep. Ty Cullen at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Ala Moana. That meeting saw Solidum and his stepdaughter reportedly offer Luke two $5,000 checks.
Van Acker’s motion states that Seitz represented Ross during the Attorney General’s public corruption investigation earlier this year, and that Ross possessed “text communications that were material to [the] investigation.”
On July 24, the day an O‘ahu grand jury indicted Luke, Fuchigami, and the rest, Seitz reportedly went with Ross into the grand jury room. Later that same day, Van Acker’s motion claims, Fuchigami contacted Seitz for assistance with posting bail.
Van Acker told Judge Wong Friday that the appearance of a conflict of interest will severely compromise Seitz’s ability to represent Fuchigami. While Van Acker said he intends to get convictions for the defendants, he added that the appearance of impropriety during such a high-profile case should be avoided at all costs.
Nonetheless, Fuchigami repeatedly told Wong that he wants to retain Seitz as his attorney, even though Wong noted that Seitz will be obligated to keep Ross’ confidentiality, and may not be able to effectively cross-examine her at trial.
Wong said that legal precedent suggests that Fuchigami can waive his right to a conflict-free lawyer if he chooses. But Fuchigami didn’t choose Friday; Wong allowed him to consider his options and to make his decision on Wednesday.
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