Cases

Plaintiff Andrew Walden, Editor of Hawaii Free Press, filed an action to obtain copies of the check registers and income/expense statements of three limited liability companies controlled by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.  The Law Center moved for leave to file an amicus curiae—friend of the court—brief regarding procedural and substantive issues raised by the […]

League of Women Voters of Honolulu and Common Cause challenged whether the process for adopting Act 84 (2018) complied with the Hawai`i Constitution.  The lawsuit focused on the gut-and-replace legislative process that makes it difficult for members of the public and the Legislature to follow, understand, and provide meaningful comments on legislation.  Specifically, in 2018, […]

Maui News submitted a memorandum supporting the unsealing of court-ordered mental competency reports filed in State v. Ashley Wellman, Cr. No. 2CPC-17-909.  In October 2016, Wellman drove in excess of 120 MPH through a busy intersection on Maui, striking other vehicles and killing two women.  The court ordered three experts to examine Wellman’s mental fitness. […]

Edward Wagner found a 2013 Courthouse News Service article describing a Hawai`i court case involving allegations of unlawful conduct by GEICO.  But when he attempted to investigate what happened, there was no public record of the case–no docket; no filed pleadings or documents; and no listing of the judge, parties, or counsel.  The only remnant of […]

On February 22, 2018, Civil Beat requested the arbitration decision concerning Darren Cachola.  In September 2014, video surfaced that showed Cachola repeatedly beating a woman.  After the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) sought to terminate Cachola, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) filed a grievance, and an arbitrator ordered him reinstated in February […]

Nick Grube, a reporter at Honolulu Civil Beat, challenged an order entered in State. v. Ahn, Cr. No. 15-1-1338, that sealed all records and docket entries related to a September 9, 2016 proceeding before the Honorable Rom A. Trader.  Grube questioned whether the prosecution’s conclusory assertion of interference with a pending investigation was sufficient to […]

On July 31, 2017, Civil Beat requested the name, position, and compensation for Honolulu Police Department employees.  The City & County of Honolulu planned to disclose the information until the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) filed a complaint and motion for temporary restraining order on September 1 to stop the City’s disclosure. […]

Honolulu Civil Beat challenged the Honolulu Civil Service Commission’s closure of contested case proceedings to the public without following the procedural and substantive First Amendment standards established by the Hawai`i Supreme Court.

The Law Center objected to the closure of the courtroom for a pretrial release hearing in United States v. Uskanli, 17-MJ-563 BMK.  After the Government moved to detain the Defendant without bail, the Defendant asked the Court to seal the hearing.  The court initially granted the Defendant’s request, but reopened the issue after the Associated Press […]

Honolulu Civil Beat and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser challenged the Honolulu Police Commission’s policy to close contested case proceedings to the public without following the procedural and substantive First Amendment standards established by the Hawai`i Supreme Court.  No. SCPW-17-661.