Katherine Kealoha Gets New Attorney For Fraud And Drug Cases
Her previous lawyer withdrew from the case due to unspecified ethical concerns and a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.
A federal judge appointed a new defense lawyer Friday to represent Katherine Kealoha, a former Honolulu deputy prosecutor, as she faces criminal trials for bank fraud, identity theft and drug trafficking.
Honolulu attorney Gary Singh will be paid to represent Kealoha using taxpayer dollars after her previous court-appointed attorney, Cynthia Kagiwada, withdrew from the cases.
Kagiwada represented Kealoha in a criminal trial in which she was found guilty along with her husband — retired Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha — of framing her uncle for the June 2013 theft of their mailbox.
She also represented Kealoha in the other criminal cases, which are scheduled for trials in October and January.
But on Thursday U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright allowed Kagiwada to withdraw as Kealoha’s attorney due to a breakdown in their relationship and unspecified ethical concerns.
Earle Partington, who was recently hired by Kealoha’s family, will continue to represent Kealoha in the mailbox case. He has said he plans to represent Kealoha through sentencing and also help prepare an appeal.
Partington has already filed a motion requesting a new trial in the mailbox conspiracy case.
Singh, who also practices immigration law, was unavailable for comment Friday.
