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COUNTY OF HAWAII •_ STATE OF HAWAII
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RESOLUTION NO. +39 19.
(DRAFT 2)
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CONTINUED .EMPLOYMENT OF SPECIAL
COUNSEL TO REPRESENT THE NAMED DEFENDANT AND FORMER EMPLOYEE
OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII, IN THE CRIMINAL ACTION STATE OFIIAWAI`I VS.
JODYBUDDEMEYER, CR. NO. 16-1-331K.
WHEREAS, Section 6-5.5, of the Hawaii County Charter, Special Counsel, provides
that the County Council, may approve by two-thirds vote of its entire membership the
employment of Special Counsel, for any special matter presenting a real necessity for such
employment; and
WHEREAS, on October 11, 2016, an Indictment was entered and filed in the Third
Circuit Court of the State of Hawaii against Jody..Buddemeyer, a former Hawaii County Police
Officer for a fatal accident that occurred on March 1, 2015; and
WHEREAS, the Indictment alleged that former Police Officer Jody Buddemeyer
committed the following criminal offenses 1) Negligent Homicide in the First Degree;
2) Tampering with Physical Evidence; and 3) False Reporting to Law Enforcement Authorities;
WHEREAS, Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 52D-8 provides, in relevant part, that
"[w]henever a police officer is prosecuted for a crime or sued in a civil action for acts done in the
performance of the officer's duty as a police officer, the police officer shall be represented and
defended ... in criminal proceedings by an attorney to be employed and paid by the county in
which the officer is serving..."; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 52D-9 provides in relevant part that the
determination of whether an act for which the police officer is being prosecuted was done in the
performance of the police officer's duty so as to entitle him to be represented by counsel
provided by the county shall be made by the police commission of the county; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2017, the Hawaii County Police Commission determined
that former Police Officer Jody Buddemeyer was acting within the course and scope of his
employment at the time of the fatal accident which occurred on March 1, 2015; and therefore, is
entitled to have Counsel provided by the County of Hawaii, in the pending criminal case; and
WHEREAS, the Office of the Corporation Counsel is precluded from representing
individuals in criminal matters and therefore; special counsel must be retained; and
WHEREAS, on May 3, 2017, the County Council approved the hiring of Special
Counsel for the purpose of providing legal services to Jody Buddemeyer in CR. No. 16-1-331K
for a sum not to exceed $50,000.00; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Hawaii Procurement Code, Section 103D-304, Hawaii
Revised Statues, as amended, the Office of the Corporation Counsel caused to be published a
Notice to Providers of Legal Professional Services, and received timely responses; and
WHEREAS, the Law Offices of Brian J. De Lima was one of the providers who
responded to the Office of the Corporation Counsel's request; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Hawaii Procurement Code, a committee of three was
formed to review and rate all qualified providers of criminal defense; and
WHEREAS, the Law Offices of Brian J. De Lima was selected by the committee as the
provider who could best serve Jody Buddemeyer, based on their experience and professional
qualifications, past performance on similar criminal defense work, capacity to accomplish the
work in the required time, the non-existence of any possible conflicts of interest, and their
projected fair and reasonable fees and costs at the rate of $150.00 per hour for any and all legal
professional services and the paralegal time fees at the rate of $75.00 per hour; and
WHEREAS, the Law Office of Brian J. De Lima was contacted, and agreed on June 15,
2017, to perform said services for Jody Buddemeyer consistent with the terms and conditions of
the May 3, 2017 resolution that authorized the hiring of Special Counsel; and
WHEREAS, prior to September 27, 2018, a proposed settlement of the alleged criminal
offenses was rejected by the Prosecutor; and
WHEREAS, on or about October 12, 2018, a jury acquitted Jody Buddemeyer of the
Tampering with Evidence and False Reporting charges, but found him guilty of the lesser
included offense of Negligent Homicide III, a misdemeanor; and
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WHEREAS, on or about November 28, 2018, Jody Buddemeyer was sentenced to one
year of probation with a number of conditions; and
WHEREAS, on or about December 28, 2018, Jody Buddemeyer filed an appeal of the
Judgment of Conviction and Probation Sentence; and
WHEREAS, the Law Office of Brian J. De Lima has been paid for legal services that
were provided prior to September 27, 2018, but will need an additional $50,000 for legal services
being provided after September 27, 2018; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that:
1. Pursuant to County Charter, Section 6-5.5, Special Counsel, the County
Council authorizes the continued retention of the Law Offices of Brian J. De Lima, to represent
Jody Buddemeyer in his criminal case, CR No. 16-1-331K; and
2. The funds for the Special Counsel shall not exceed the total sum of
$100,000.00 plus costs.
REST OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the
Office of the Corporation Counsel and the Hawai`i County Police Department.
Dated at Hilo , Hawai`i, this 5th day of February , 2019.
INTRODUCED BY:
jiopepiwo_„ dor
COUNCIL '14 • `-OF HAWAII
COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE
County of Hawaii AYES NOES ABS EX
Hilo, Hawai`i CHUNG X
DAVID X
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by EOFF X
the vote indicated to the right hereof adoptby the COUNCIL of the
County of Hawai`i on February 5, 2019 KANEALI I- x
KLEINFELDER
KIERKIEWICZ X
LEELOY X
ATTEST: POINDEXTER X
RICHARDS X
VILLEGAS X
9 0 0 0
Reference: C-82.2/Waived FC
COUN Y CLERK CHAIRPERSON&PRESI► G OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. 39 is
(DRAFT 2)
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