Case Details

Issues

Conflicts, Control Of Litigation, Status In State Government

Filing State

HI

Court

Hawaii Supreme Court

Year

1998

Citation

Chun v. Bd. of Trustees of the Employees’ Retirement Sys., 952 P.2d 1215 (Haw. 1998)

Resolution

Attorney general cannot direct litigation in a manner contrary to the wishes of the particular state officials they represent

Case Description

In Hawaii, the supreme court has recognized that due to the [Attorney General’s] statutorily mandated role[s] in our legal system, we cannot mechanically apply the [Hawaii] Code of Professional Responsibility to the [Attorney General’s] office. . . . In large part, this is because . . . when the client is a governmental organization . . . in some circumstances the client may be a specific [officer,] agency [or instrumentality] while in other circumstances the client is “the government as a whole.”