Charles Marsland (1923-2007) was a

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

attorney who served as the first elected

Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu The Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu is one of only two countywide elected positions in the City & County of Honolulu Honolulu County (officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, formerly Oahu County) is a consolidated city–county ...

from 1981 to 1988. He is best known for his aggressive prosecution of the Hawaiian Mob during the mid 1980s, which took place after the murder of his son, which was allegedly connected to organized crime.

Early life and education

Marsland, the grandson of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

immigrants to Hawaii, was born on April 11, 1923. His father, Charles F. Marsland Sr., was a deep-sea diver and his mother Sadie was a schoolteacher. Marsland attended the prestigious

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

and, upon graduation, attended

Tufts College Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

. While enrolled, he joined the US Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps as a rifleman and was subsequently deployed to fight in the

Pacific Ocean theater of World War II The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. As a Naval commander, Marsland fought in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and, after the war, remained in the Navy as a prison administration officer at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. Following his discharge from the Navy, he returned to Tufts and graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1949, then enrolled at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

's school of law in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Career

Assistant attorney general in Massachusetts (1953 - 1958)

His first job as a prosecutor was working as an assistant

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in 1953, serving in the office of then-

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected Constitution of Massachusetts, constitutionally defined executive officer of the Government of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement offic ...

George Fingold George Fingold (October 18, 1908 – August 31, 1958) was an American politician from Massachusetts who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1958. Fingold's political career began at the age of 21 when he was elected to the ...

. As an assistant attorney general, Marsland prosecuted cases involving gambling, organized crime, and murder.

Campaign for Plymouth County district attorney (1958)

In 1958, Marsland resigned from the attorney generals' office and entered private practice. He attempted to run for his first elected office as Plymouth County

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

, challenging incumbent John Wheatley. However, he fell short in the Republican primary, losing with 8,463 votes to 13,569 votes. Wheatley went on to win re-election unopposed.

Deputy Corporation Counsel in Honolulu (1967 - 1979)

Marsland left Boston following his divorce and moved back to Honolulu in 1967. His first job in Hawaii was as a deputy corporation counsel, handling civil litigation for the city of Honolulu. His work involved compliance with civil rights law, pursuing civil actions on behalf of the city, and defending police officers accused of brutality. During this period of his career, he developed a good rapport with the

Honolulu Police Department The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP. Officially recognized as a part of the government of the ...

which he carried with him to his next job as county prosecutor.

Prosecuting Attorney in Honolulu (1980 - 1988)

After joining the prosecutors' office, he briefly led a unit focused on the prosecution of career criminals. After being fired from the office, Marsland ran for and won the inaugural 1980 election, becoming the first elected

. After being elected, he was credited with doubling the size of the prosecutors' office and aggressively targeting organized crime.

Personal life

Marsland married a television presenter named Jayne Watts in Boston in 1953. With her, he had two children - Charles F. Marsland Jr. (more commonly known as "Chuckers") (born in 1955) and Laurie Jane Marsland (born in 1957). In 1967, Marsland and his wife separated. Marsland gained sole custody of his son Chuckers and returned to Hawaii. Later, he formed a relationship with an interior designer named Polly Grigg, who remained his domestic partner until his death in 2007.

Death

Marsland died at his Portlock home on April 11, 2007. In his honor, his family trust donated $3 million to the

Shriners Hospital Shriners Children's is a network of non-profit medical facilities across North America. Children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-center ...

for

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

in Honolulu. This amount was the largest donation to the Shriners in Honolulu from a single individual.

References

External links

City & County of Honolulu

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsland, Charles Government of Honolulu District attorneys in Hawaii 1923 births 2007 deaths American people of Norwegian descent United States Navy personnel of World War II Hawaii lawyers Massachusetts lawyers County officials in Hawaii Hawaii Republicans Tufts University alumni Northeastern University School of Law alumni Punahou School alumni 20th-century American lawyers