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Board of Ethics <br />Minutes - Regular Session <br />December 13, 2006 <br />KS: In practice would you have an impeachment action and then depending on the <br />outcome of that could you go to either criminal or... ? <br />BLT: I don't understand the question. <br />KS: I'll withdraw it. I'm asking, it says that the court has criminal offense; action for <br />penalties, civil actions and then (4) is impeachment. That is four different categories of cases. <br />BLT: Yes, the way they have this organized. <br />WJ: It might not be (4), because she said civil actions (inaudible) they are just <br />clarifying it. <br />BLT: The reference in number (3) is to other types of actions, like injunctive relief. <br />KS: Okay, then if (4), shouldn't that be in (a) under civil? In other words, right now, <br />to me, it has the same status as (1), (2), and (3) and in fact.... <br />BLT: Honolulu's position is that this is not covered by the term "civil action." <br />That civil action is usually a type of private activity between entities and persons including <br />corporations and businesses and non - criminal, whereas impeachment is the right of voters to <br />seek redress against an elected official. They're concerned that the nature of the impeachment <br />proceedings is a little bit different than what is normally conceived of as a civil action. <br />KS: Okay and that is the second paragraph on page 2, which talks about the citizens <br />being without a valid process. <br />WJ: So our decision here is whether we wish to support their efforts or just file this <br />document. <br />Al: Well, I think it would be to our benefit to have it clarified because if an <br />impeachment comes up and somebody chooses, with all of this, to say "Well you don't have <br />jurisdiction" it seems to me that lawyers are sharp enough that they would go to.... <br />BLT: And the recent charter amendments have made it more difficult to impeach <br />someone. Previously all you needed was 100 registered voters from any district. That has been <br />changed. For a councilmember it has to be people in your district <br />Al: It has to be a percentage, right? <br />BLT: I think it may have been changed to a percentage. <br />AL: A percentage, right? <br />in <br />