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has a good cause so he does not have to answer to your subpoena. <br /> In which case, we would have to wait for the court hearing. <br /> Again, this is just a matter of convenience for our office as <br /> well as having the additional clout, so to speak , at times. <br /> MR. OMONAKA: My question would be that the <br /> Charter should be a basic document rather than putting in all <br /> these things. . .would it be proper then? <br /> MR. ONO: It really would be because it is <br /> part of the power of the office and we don ' t think we could get <br /> it in any other way. The only. other way that this could be <br /> passed would be through a. . .possibly through the Legislature <br /> acting and passing a law making it a power for all prosecutors , <br /> state-wide. Right now, I believe by Charter, only Honolulu has <br /> this particular power. <br /> MR. OMONAKA: Has that power been challenged <br /> constitutionally? <br /> MR. ONO: I believe it has only been challenged <br /> once and that was in the. . .and I might be incorrect in this. . . <br /> but it has been challenged once by the Attorney General ' s office <br /> when the Attorney General ' s office and the City and County of <br /> Honolulu had a little bit of a disagreement. I 'm not sure which <br /> particular case it was but it was a very recent case. This <br /> particular subpoena usage has been very limited by the Honolulu <br /> Prosecutor' s office and when it is used it is used in the manner <br /> that I have stated it was used. . . just to try to get documents <br /> and records so that we could tell whether it would be necessary <br /> to file a complaint. The problem comes up especially in the <br /> area of bad checks. This is the first thing that comes to mind <br /> where we. . .a person may have a bad check that might be an over- <br /> sight on his part. He might not have met the particular <br /> institution ' s deadline for depositing funds so it comes back <br /> "insufficient funds" when he has funds and the only way we can <br /> check on this is to have access to the bank records which they <br /> require either a court order or a subpoena. <br /> MR. TRULSON: If I understand you right, this <br /> subpoena power or the ability to subpoena. . . if the man would <br /> challenge it there is no penalty for him to challenge it, then <br /> it would go through the normal subpoena channels through the <br /> court. It would be the court that would say whether or not the <br /> particular subpoena was in order and then order it. But if he <br /> did not answer your subpoena and disregarded it, the only <br /> penalty to him for that would be then that you would go to the <br /> court to get another subpoena, a stronger one. <br /> MR. ONO: No, it would be rather than another <br /> subpoena which can happen that way, depending on how we would <br /> like to proceed in any particular case, but the way the Section <br /> is set up if the person refuses to answer or refuses to come <br /> to honor the subpoena or to produce the documents.. .at that point <br /> in time we would apply to the court or we would request the court <br /> to compel the obedience. In other words , it would be in the form <br /> 6f say an order to show cause and for the person to appear before <br /> -9- <br />