Cases

The Law Center objected to Defendant Louis Kealoha’s effort to seal “letters and documents” regarding his sentencing in United States v. Kealoha, 17-CR-582 JMS WRP.  The Law Center’s objection is filed under 19-MC-417.  On October 28, 2019, Chief Judge Seabright ordered the sentencing documents unsealed because there was no legal basis for filing the documents […]

The State of Hawai`i Department of Taxation disagreed with an opinion issued by the Office of Information Practices concerning public access to the Department’s assumptions and analysis behind fiscal impact estimates for proposed legislation.  OIP held that the records must be disclosed to the public.  The Law Center filed an amicus curiae–friend of the court–brief […]

The Law Center moved for the public release of the court-approved Criminal Justice Act payment vouchers–payments for taxpayer-funded defense counsel and other services–in United States v. Kealoha, 17-CR-582; United States v. Kealoha, 18-CR-68; and United States v. Puana, 19-CR-15.  The Law Center’s motion was filed under 19-MC-367.  Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter released the requested […]

The City & County of Honolulu disagreed with an opinion issued by the Office of Information Practices concerning public access to the City’s appraisals of government-owned property.  OIP held that the appraisals must be disclosed to the public.  The Law Center filed an amicus curiae–friend of the court–brief supporting OIP’s position.  S.P. No. 19-1-0157 JPC. […]

The Law Center moved to unseal competency evaluation records after the Court found a criminal defendant unfit to stand trial in United States v. Ernest Bade, 18-CR-167 HG-1.  The Law Center’s motion was filed under 19-MC-282 HG-WRP.  On October 15, 2019, Judge Helen Gillmor granted in part the Law Center’s motion and unsealed records concerning […]

The Law Center objected to Defendants Katherine Kealoha and Louis Kealoha’s effort to seal documents filed in connection with a motion in limine to suppress evidence in United States v. Katherine P. Kealoha, 17-CR-582 JMS WRP.  The Law Center’s objection was filed under 19-MC-86.  On May 14, 2019, Judge Seabright denied Defendants’ motion to seal […]

The Law Center moved to unseal documents filed under seal without public explanation in United States v. Gerard K. Puana, 13-CR-735 LEK, and other related cases.  The Law Center’s motion was filed under 19-CV-172 LEK-WRP and 19-MC-95 LEK-WRP.  The case was assigned to the Honorable Leslie E. Kobayashi.  On June 24, 2019, Judge Kobayashi granted […]

Online publication Civil Beat challenged the Department of Education’s refusal to provide documents concerning 34 closed cases of employee misconduct reported to the Board of Education in May 2018.  The case originally was before Judge Bert I. Ayabe. Civil No. 19-1-191-2 BIA.  Civil Beat moved for partial summary judgment on August 14, 2019.  On November […]

The Law Center objected to several motions to seal filed by Defendants Katherine Kealoha, Gordon Shiraishi, and Minh-Hung Nguyen in an effort to conceal documents filed in connection with motions to dismiss the indictment or suppress evidence in United States v. Katherine P. Kealoha, 17-CR-582 JMS RLP.  The Law Center’s objections were filed under 19-MC-10, […]

The Law Center moved to unseal multiple documents filed under seal without apparent explanation in United States v. Katherine P. Kealoha, 17-CR-582 JMS RLP-1.  The Law Center’s motion is filed under 18-MC-477 JMS-RLP.  On December 21, 2018, Magistrate Judge Richard Puglisi denied the motion to unseal, stating that the documents were sealed to protect a […]