The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-05-24
COUNSEL
MAY PROSECUTE
CONTINUED from Page one.l


son or prosecutor for services render
ed in any prosecution or business to
which it shall be his official duty to
attend; nor be concerned as counsel
or attorney for either party in any civil
action depending upon the same state
of facts
Similar statutes in Massachusetts,
Michigan and in Wisconsin," the court
says, have been construed as giving
to the attorney general exclusive duty
to conduct and manage criminal pro-
secutions and as decarative of pub
lie policy against the employment by
private persons of attorneys to con-
duct or even assist in the prosecution
of criminal cases
! Interspersing many citations from
other jurisdictions, the court makes
| observations in part as follows:
The defendant insists that the jul
dicial construction placed upon the
statute in Massachusetts, where it ap-
pears to have been enacted in 1907
should be followed here.
} The presumption that the legisla-
ture in adopting the statute of another
state or Of foreign country adopts the
construction of the statute made by
the courts of that state OF country
cannot be permitted to prevail against
a plain and obvious Interpretation OF
the statute" =
And where the statute is too clear
to require construction there is Mt
occasion to refer to decisions else
where. The practice in Hawaii has
always allowed the public prosecutor
to engage or permit private counsel t.
assist in prosecutions, and there is NJ
reason to suppose that this practice
was not in existence from the time o.
the earliest enacted laws"
, AT an early date the attorney gen
eral appointed agents to do the du
, ties of district attorneys in certain
/ localities in prosecuting minor of
/ lenses, the agents having the right Il
l the attorneys fees growing out OF an!
e cause by them prosecuted
L
: the city and county attorney to pro
' secute criminal cases before distric
magistrates, expressly declares moth
ing herein contained shall prevent tn
= institution or conduct of proceeding
e by private counsel before magistrate
= under the direction of the City an
:, County Attorney.
: THE cases cited by the defendan
: set forth reasons of public policy TO
> requiring prosecutions to be conduct
II ed solely by attorneys officially al
u thorized lest the dispassionate cours
. suited to an official prosecution ma
. degenerate into attempts to harass an
annoy from motives of revenge or /
3 will rather than such as are suppose
= to actuate the course of a law Office
- whose official responsibility is meS
- sured solely by a desire to vindicat
the majesty of the law.
80 But we do not consider that II
10 statute presents any question for col
:. struction as to its meaning. The a
torney general and his deputies al
required to appear for the Territol
in all public prosecutions and are re
ponsible on their oaths of Office I,
the performance of their duties wit
out fee or reward. They cannot del
gate the performance to private pc
L sons nor is this done by permitting ;
attorney employed by private perso
"a. to assist in trials. The attorney ge
eral does not thus relinquish his co
*. troll over case 1t would be the dn
of the court to restrain any exhibits
n of spite or any attempt at persecuti
on the part of counsel so engag