Peter Carlisle
Encyclopedia
Peter Benson Carlisle is the current Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii
. He previously was the Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu
, from 1996 to 2010.
, New Jersey
. He attended Kent School
in Connecticut
and pursued an undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and English, he attended the UCLA School of Law
.
Peter Carlisle's first experience with prosecution in Hawaii came in a work/study program with the Honolulu prosecutor's office. After receiving his Juris Doctor
degree from UCLA, he was recruited as a deputy prosecutor for the City and County of Honolulu. He remained in that job for over a decade, attaining the responsibility of chief of the Career Criminal Unit.
In 1988, Carlisle went into private practice for the Honolulu law firm of Shim, Tam, Kirimitsu, Kitamura and Chang where he worked for eight years, mostly handling personal injury cases. In 1996 he ran for Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu and was elected.
Carlisle is an opponent of capital punishment
. While in office as prosecuting attorney he pushed for tougher sentencing laws and led a successful fight to amend the state constitution to allow for "information charging" and eliminate the requirement that victims and other witnesses testify during preliminary or grand jury hearings. He was later criticized by the Hawai'i Supreme Court for using taxpayer money to promote the constitutional amendment.
Carlisle came to Hawaii in 1978 where he met and married Judy.
Political analysts credited Carlisle’s more extensive experience as a deputy prosecutor, his independence from political parties, and his performance in televised debates as reasons for winning. Carlisle ran unopposed in 2000 for a second four-year term as Prosecuting Attorney.
In the 2004 Hawaii Primary Election
, former Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro challenged Carlisle. Carlisle received 58.4% of the vote as opposed to Kaneshiro's 34.1%.
In 2008, Carlisle ran unopposed for an unprecedented fourth term as Honolulu Prosecutor.
who shot and killed seven of his co-workers at a Xerox
warehouse in Honolulu. The jury found Uyesugi guilty of First Degree Murder.
Carlisle held faculty positions as an adjunct professor with the University of Hawaii System William S. Richardson School of Law
, at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. He was a member of the board of directors of the National District Attorney’s Association and in 2002 was awarded the MADD
National Criminal Justice Award.
Mufi Hannemann
leaves office to run for Governor, he would resign from the office of the Prosecuting Attorney to run for Mayor of Honolulu. On July 20, 2010, Mufi Hannemann announced his resignation from the Mayor's office. Carlisle subsequently announced his resignation as prosecuting attorney. He ran against three other major contenders: Acting Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell
who was appointed Managing Director by Mufi Hannemann and became the Acting Mayor when Hannemann resigned to run for Governor, UH Professor and former Mayoral candidate Panos Prevedouros, and City Councilmember Rod Tam.
Carlisle won the special Mayoral election
on September 18, 2010, and was sworn in to office on October 11, 2010.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
. He previously was the Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu
Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu
The Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu is one of only two countywide elected positions in the City & County of Honolulu in the State of Hawai'i. He or she is responsible for the prosecution of people for offenses to the laws and regulations established by the municipal government...
, from 1996 to 2010.
Life
Carlisle was born in 1952 in RidgewoodRidgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. He attended Kent School
Kent School
Kent School is a private, co-educational college preparatory school in Kent, Connecticut, USA. The Reverend Frederick Herbert Sill, Order of the Holy Cross, established the school in 1906 and it retains its affiliation with the Episcopal Church of the United States.Students at Kent come from more...
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and pursued an undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and English, he attended the UCLA School of Law
UCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1952.- History :...
.
Peter Carlisle's first experience with prosecution in Hawaii came in a work/study program with the Honolulu prosecutor's office. After receiving his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from UCLA, he was recruited as a deputy prosecutor for the City and County of Honolulu. He remained in that job for over a decade, attaining the responsibility of chief of the Career Criminal Unit.
In 1988, Carlisle went into private practice for the Honolulu law firm of Shim, Tam, Kirimitsu, Kitamura and Chang where he worked for eight years, mostly handling personal injury cases. In 1996 he ran for Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu and was elected.
Carlisle is an opponent of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. While in office as prosecuting attorney he pushed for tougher sentencing laws and led a successful fight to amend the state constitution to allow for "information charging" and eliminate the requirement that victims and other witnesses testify during preliminary or grand jury hearings. He was later criticized by the Hawai'i Supreme Court for using taxpayer money to promote the constitutional amendment.
Carlisle came to Hawaii in 1978 where he met and married Judy.
Elections
Peter Carlisle’s opponents in 1996 were defense attorney and three-year deputy prosecutor David Arakawa and former deputy prosecutor and Liquor Commission administrator Randal Yoshida. Keith Kaneshiro, who was Prosecuting Attorney since 1988, endorsed David Arakawa. David Arakawa came out ahead of Carlisle in the primary, but did not win over 50% of the vote in the September election to win outright. Carlisle steadily gained in the polls after the September Primary and beat Arakawa in the November runoff in the general election.Political analysts credited Carlisle’s more extensive experience as a deputy prosecutor, his independence from political parties, and his performance in televised debates as reasons for winning. Carlisle ran unopposed in 2000 for a second four-year term as Prosecuting Attorney.
In the 2004 Hawaii Primary Election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, former Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro challenged Carlisle. Carlisle received 58.4% of the vote as opposed to Kaneshiro's 34.1%.
In 2008, Carlisle ran unopposed for an unprecedented fourth term as Honolulu Prosecutor.
Prosecuting Attorney
Along with administering the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office, Carlisle personally prosecuted several cases during his term, including the mass murder trial of Byran UyesugiByran Uyesugi
The Xerox murders was an incident of mass murder that occurred on November 2, 1999, in a Xerox building in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Service technician Byran Koji Uyesugi shot at eight people; seven fatally and one more fired upon during escape. This was the worst mass murder in the...
who shot and killed seven of his co-workers at a Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
warehouse in Honolulu. The jury found Uyesugi guilty of First Degree Murder.
Carlisle held faculty positions as an adjunct professor with the University of Hawaii System William S. Richardson School of Law
William S. Richardson School of Law
The William S. Richardson School of Law is a public, co-educational institution of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii. Named after the beloved Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice William S. Richardson, it is the only law school in the State of Hawaii...
, at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. He was a member of the board of directors of the National District Attorney’s Association and in 2002 was awarded the MADD
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...
National Criminal Justice Award.
Mayor
In July 2009, Carlisle announced that when Mayor of HonoluluMayor of Honolulu
The Mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu and considered the third most powerful official in the U.S. state of Hawaii, behind the Governor of Hawaii and the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii...
Mufi Hannemann
Mufi Hannemann
Muliufi Francis "Mufi" Hannemann is an American politician. He is the former Mayor of Honolulu. Hannemann has served as a special assistant in Washington, D.C., with the Department of the Interior, where he was selected for a White House fellowship in the Reagan administration under Vice President...
leaves office to run for Governor, he would resign from the office of the Prosecuting Attorney to run for Mayor of Honolulu. On July 20, 2010, Mufi Hannemann announced his resignation from the Mayor's office. Carlisle subsequently announced his resignation as prosecuting attorney. He ran against three other major contenders: Acting Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell
Kirk Caldwell
Kirk Caldwell is an American politician who was Acting Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu in 2010.-Life:Caldwell represented the 24th Representative District in the Hawaii State House of Representatives of the Hawaii State Legislature from 2002 to 2008, serving as the House Majority Leader...
who was appointed Managing Director by Mufi Hannemann and became the Acting Mayor when Hannemann resigned to run for Governor, UH Professor and former Mayoral candidate Panos Prevedouros, and City Councilmember Rod Tam.
Carlisle won the special Mayoral election
Honolulu mayoral election, 2010
The 2010 Honolulu special mayoral election was held on September 18, 2010. The election coincided with Hawaii's primary election. The winner of the election, Peter Carlisle, is filling the unexpired term of former Democratic Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who resigned on July 20, 2010 to run in...
on September 18, 2010, and was sworn in to office on October 11, 2010.