The Hawaii State Supreme Court has upheld the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s right to attorney’s fees and costs incurred on appeal in a case involving the newspaper’s 2011 lawsuit against Gov. Neil Abercrombie seeking the release of the names of judicial candidates.
The court ruled Thursday that the Intermediate Court of Appeals "abused its discretion" when it denied the newspaper about $20,000 in fees and costs that were incurred in the state’s appeal of a circuit judge’s awarding of fees and costs to the Star-Advertiser in its successful attempt to force Abercrombie to make public the names of finalists submitted to him by the Judicial Selection Commission.
The high court sent the case back to the appeals court for "proceedings consistent with this opinion."
"We are extremely pleased with the unanimous decision of our highest court confirming that we not only have a right to be reimbursed, but that the fees incurred were appropriate," said Dennis Francis, Star-Advertiser president and publisher.
"It’s a shame that we had to spend even more taxpayer dollars to get what we deserved in the first place," he said.
Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto in 2011 awarded about $70,000 in attorney’s fees and costs to the Star-Advertiser after he ordered Abercrombie to release the names of judicial candidates.
Departing from the practice of the two previous governors, Abercrombie had refused to release the names, saying it would discourage applicants if they knew their names might be made public.
Under the state Constitution, the governor must appoint justices and judges from the lists of finalists submitted by the commission, which screens the judicial applicants.
Two days after the Circuit Court decision, the commission announced it would disclose the names when it sends the lists to the governor. Abercrombie later released the names on the lists for his first three judicial appointments, including Sabrina McKenna to the Hawaii Supreme Court.
