Supreme Court of Hawai`i Blog

• 9th Circuit unveils new website

  [www.ca9.uscourts.gov] [...]
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  Posted: January 08, 2009, 4:29am EST
  

• Check out Hawaii Legal News

  Please check out Hawaii Legal News for excellent analysis of the latest appellate opinions from the Intermediate Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Hawai`i:
  
  http://hawaiiopinions.blogspot.com/ [...]
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  Posted: December 26, 2008, 3:22am EST
  

• Exercise of eminent domain authority in Hawai`i just got a little trickier

  The power to condemn land is one of the strongest powers to be exercised by state and county government. The Supreme Court's 3-2 ruling today may cause government officials to be redouble their efforts to be certain that the power is exercised appropriately, as it is now clear that incomplete' [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2008, 11:41am EST
  

• The State's budgetary duties just got even trickier

  The Hawaii House Blog reports that the Supreme Court has ruled against the State's practice of depositing fee revenues into the General Fund:
  
  Supreme Court rules on Legislative Fee Transfer
  
  Although the case dealt with the $3.5-million transfer of insurance-industry fees, the impacts could call into question' [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2008, 11:38am EST
  

• Pacific Legal Foundation fights coastal-protection regulation

  The conservative public interest law firm Pacific Legal Foundation currently has its sights set on the California Coastal Commission:
  
  [coastalhorrors.org]
  
  Will PLF's attention next turn to Hawai`i's regulatory framework of coastal protections?
  
  Founded in 1973 by Edwin Meese (who went on to run the [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2008, 3:05am EST
  

• Conform or be cast out

  Robert Thomas reports on today's ICA opinion on the law of nonconforming uses:
  
  Hawaii Appeals Court: Let's Go Surfin' Now, Everybody's Learning How... [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2008, 11:58am EST
  

• Live blog of this morning's Superferry oral argument is about to begin

  [www.inversecondemnation.com] [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 3:17am EST
  

• New Kaua`i prosecuting attorney interviewed on KGMB

  Meet Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho:
  
  http://kgmb9.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12443&Itemid=108
  
  (Mahalo to Planet Kauai for the link.) [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2008, 3:49am EST
  

• Lack of clarity in law caused problem regarding holdover UH regents?

  The Supreme Court chides the Governor, but Planet Kauai chides the Legislature:
  
  State Supreme Court should not have ordered the governor to replace UH Regents
  
  What the court should have done was tell the legislature to write better laws, because this one has a hole in it.[...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2008, 5:36pm EST
  

• For Real - 9th Circuit has no love

  
  You want to know how you can tell when the Ninth Circuit doesn't like you? When it, inter alia, starts issuing published opinions that (1) reverse your judgments, (2) without the need for oral argument, (3) in two brief paragraphs, and (4) that further remand the case to a' [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2008, 5:55am EST
  

• Medical marijuana: "nothing more than a ruse for drug dealers"

  That's the pronouncement from Republican George Fontaine, who lost his race for a seat in the Hawai`i Legislature last month:
  
  Yes we cannabis?' [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 3:19am EST
  

• Surpeme Court of Hawai`i limits forfeiture power

  Here's the Nov. 17 opinion in Carlisle vs. One (1) Boat:
  
  [www.state.hi.us]
  
  (Hat tip to Hawaiioceanlaw.com.)' [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2008, 11:55am EST
  

• go! going Aloha

  Beat of Hawaii has the story:
  
  Stranger things have happened, I guess, but this one is up there. After allegedly stealing their information, and at least in part helping push them out of business, Mesa now plans to be the new Aloha Airlines. [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2008, 9:53am EST
  

• Attorney Robert Harris to lead Sierra Club of Hawai`i

  Here's last week's Star-Bulletin article:
  
  Sierra Club taps attorney as new Hawaii director
  
  There's apparently no information about Harris, who has been practicing with a corporate law firm, yet on the Sierra Club website:
  
  Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter
  
  Harris replaces Jeff Mikulina,' [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2008, 9:20am EST
  

• "ICA"

  Planet Kauai reports today:
  
  Yesterday's Star-Bulletin featured an informative piece on Hawaii's appellate courts, especially the Intermediate Court of Appeals whose influence has grown, according to the article, after a 2006 change in appellate procedure made the ICA the principal body charged with resolving appeals and [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2008, 8:49am EST
  

• Want to serve on the Supreme Court of Hawai`i?

  Get your application in to the Judicial Selection Commission by Nov. 17. [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2008, 4:42am EST
  

• In first decision of term, U.S. Supreme Court rules for Navy and against whales in sonar case

  Court rules for Navy in sonar use [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2008, 3:24am EST
  

• Bush loyalist wants to stay as U.S. Attorney under Obama

  It's not going to happen.
  
  But the Star-Bulletin seems to think it might:
  
  http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20081107_US_attorney_wants_to_keep_post.html
  
  The Star-Bulletin also assumes that the Clinton-endorsing Sen. Dan Inouye will play "a key role" in selecting the new U.S. Attorney for Hawai`i. Just because that's always been the case during the [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2008, 3:24am EST
  

• Divided federal appeals court OKs legislative prayer

  Crowe v. Cobb County, Ga. (11th Cir., Oct. 28, 2008) (.pdf)
  
  The U.S. Supreme Court will probably need to act to ultimately resolve the controversy.
  
  The Supreme Court of Hawai`i has not been called upon to address the issue. [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2008, 6:46pm EDT
  

• Legendary Levinson Leaves Liberal Legacy

  From the Star-Bulletin:
  
  High court justice will be stepping down
  
  Justice Levinson is a committed civil libertarian who opined that the State's prohibition on same-sex marriage violated the Equal Rights Amendment and that marijuana-possession prosecutions violated the right to privacy.' [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2008, 6:36am EDT
  

• Superferry Heads Back to State Supreme Court

  State Supreme Court to hear Superferry law challenge [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2008, 2:08pm EDT
  

• Navy v. Marine Mammals at U.S. Supreme Court

  Insanity at Sea: Navy Sonar
  
  US Supreme Court weighs national security, whale welfare
  
  Save the Whales, or the U.S. Navy Sonar? - Case Before the Supreme Court Pits Marine Life Against Technology [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2008, 6:30pm EDT
  

• U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Hawai`i v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs

  OHA's statement (10-1-08):
  
  [oha.org]
  
  State Attorney General's statement (10-1-08):
  
  [hawaii.gov]
  
  State Supreme Court opinion (1-31-08):
  
  [www.state.hi.us]
  
  Papers filed with U.S. Supreme Court thus far:
  
  [planetkauai.blogspot.com] [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2008, 2:33pm EDT
  

• Court's view of discipline of children criticized

  From The Online Lunchpail â„¢ today:
  
  It's been a good year for dominionist wingnuts who think children are their property to batter. In the spring, the Minnesota Supreme Court legalized the merciless beating of children.
  
  Now the Hawaii Supreme Court has followed suit.
  
  The Hawaii verdict' [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2008, 5:17pm EDT
  

• Water Commission orders East Maui stream restoration

  Today's Maui News article:
  
  Panel orders water into streams
  
  Commission on Water Resource Management website:
  
  [www.state.hi.us]' [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2008, 4:11pm EDT
  

• Stop Rail Now stopped by Intermediate Court of Appeals

  Here's today's ruling:
  
  [www.state.hi.us]
  
  On to the Supreme Court? [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2008, 12:05pm EDT
  

• Slow year for Office of Information Practices advisory opinions

  The OIP provides advice on open government to state and county boards. So far, only two advisory opinions have been issued in 2008. Since it first started issuing advisory opinions in 1989, the OIP has always issued at least three per year (usually many more).
  
  Here's a full [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2008, 7:53am EDT
  

• Shawn Ching leaving TV to practice law

  That's the story, according to Rich Fewell. [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2008, 11:59am EDT
  

• Paper prevails

  Ninth Circuit says lower court can't mandate electronic filing. [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2008, 6:24am EDT
  

• Kitty goes to court

  
  more animals [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2008, 6:21am EDT
  

• Interesting schedule of oral arguments next month

  Some cases will be argued at the law school. Eminent domain will be the topic of another case. Here's the October schedule of oral arguments from the Judiciary:
  
  [www.courts.state.hi.us] [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2008, 4:33pm EDT
  

• Handy rundown of cases on parental abuse or non-abuse

  From today's Star-Bulletin:
  
  [starbulletin.com] [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2008, 4:31pm EDT
  

• Right to dance at issue in Pennslyvania & Hawai`i

  The ACS blog has the story from the Keystone State:
  
  [www.acsblog.org]
  
  The Maui Weekly has the local story:
  
  [www.mauiweekly.com] [...]
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  Posted: September 05, 2008, 2:23pm EDT
  

• ConCon costs: who do you trust?

  The LG task force - largely comprised of Republican politicians - says a ConCon would be cheap, maybe a couple of million bucks. Some observers say LG Aiona is eager to tout a ConCon because he wants to scale back labor and civil rights in the existing Hawai`i Constitution. [...]
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  Posted: September 05, 2008, 2:00pm EDT
  

• "Lambda Legal Wins in Hawaii"

  Ravenhurst reports:
  
  

  Lambda Legal sued the University of Hawaii in the spring of 2008 for denying couples housing to Phi Ngo and Joseph O’Leary. Phi and Joseph had lived in couples before but when they reapplied they were denied. The University said only couples married under Hawaii law [...]

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  Posted: September 03, 2008, 8:10am EDT
  

• Plastic bags could be history

  [starbulletin.com] [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2008, 5:03am EDT
  

• "Confederate Flags, Christian Textbooks, and Native Hawaiians"

  That's the headline of last Thursday's "roundup" from the School Law Blog. [...]
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  Posted: August 18, 2008, 6:54am EDT
  

• The Healthy Lawyer is back in Pittsburgh . . .

  . . . after eight days in Hawai`i. [...]
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  Posted: August 18, 2008, 6:50am EDT
  

• Say aloha to Judge Kawano

  Senate Approves Kelsey Kawano as Maui District Court Judge [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2008, 3:23pm EDT
  

• "Hawaiian school’s admission fight back in court"

  From the SCOTUS Blog:
  
  

  The six-year running battle over the admissions policy of a highly regarded private school in Hawaii — the Kamehameha Schools — is back in the courts, with one side specifically aiming for an ultimate test in the Supreme Court.

  [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2008, 3:21pm EDT
  

• City Council seat sought by Bainum still may have legal cloud

  Derrick DePledge reports that longtime union leader George Waialeale - who withdrew his nomination papers after Kirk Caldwell apparently filed his - wants back in. [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2008, 3:16pm EDT
  

• A thoughtful look at the 9th Circuit . . .

  . . . by Cyrus Sanai in the current L.A. Weekly:
  
  Ninth Circuit Court Retreats to Idaho [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2008, 6:36am EDT
  

• Attorneys lead delegation of Filipino Americans from Hawai`i to Phillipines

  ABS-CBN News Online reports today on April's visit to Manila by attorneys Benjamin J. Cayetano, Ron Menor, Mario Ramil, and Artemio Baxa and other prominent members of the Filipino community:
  
  Triumphant homecoming of Fil-Ams in Hawaii [...]
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  Posted: July 29, 2008, 4:09am EDT
  

• "Waiver and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel--when to Raise it."

  Ben Lowenthal analyzes a recent ICA opinion:
  
  Rule 40 and Retroactivity Revisited [...]
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  Posted: July 21, 2008, 3:36pm EDT
  

• Aunty Hattie rants about a possible Obama Supreme Court nominee

  They are going to get away with it, again.
  

  As I read around about Sunstein, the word that keeps popping into my mind is "craven." I knew people like him in college. Go along to get along was ever their strategy.

  [...]
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  Posted: July 21, 2008, 3:31pm EDT
  

• Another special legislative session this summer to consider Maui judicial nominee

  Kelsey Kawano [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2008, 7:23pm EDT
  

• Update: Case of strip-searched teen allowed to proceed

  That's the word today, as a 9th Circuit en banc panel rebukes the prior opinion of Hawai`i-based, Bush-appoinnted Judge Richard Clifton.
  
  Here are previous posts on the case:
  
  13-year-old honor student strip searched as authorities look for . . . ibuprofen (Sept. 25, 2007)
  
  [...]
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  Posted: July 12, 2008, 2:31pm EDT
  

• No races for prosecutor?

  That's the case so far, with only 11 days left to file. [...]
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  Posted: July 12, 2008, 2:29pm EDT
  

• "Hawaii law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation . . .

  . . . in employment, public accommodations and housing."
  
  That's a reminder from the Human Rights Campaign, via a post at Pam's House Blend on the federal government's existing and proposed faith-based programs:
  
  

  [I]f my employer is an evangelical Christian who has religious objections to homosexuality, [...]

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  Posted: July 06, 2008, 3:16pm EDT
  

• Big Business Wins at the High Court

  That's the end-of-session conclusion from D.C. appellate experts. [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2008, 10:11am EDT