High court refuses to sanction convention leaders
STAR-ADVERTISER / OCT. 23, 2015
Bill Meheula, left, an attorney for Nai Aupuni, speaks to reporters outside U.S. District Court in Honolulu following a hearing in October.
The Native Hawaiian self-governance convention planned for next month cleared a legal hurdle Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt to hold convention organizers in contempt of court.
However, the underlying lawsuit filed by Grassroot Institute President Keli‘i Akina and five other plaintiffs in August remains pending. They sued to block the election of delegates to the convention, saying it violates their constitutional rights because only Native Hawaiians could register and vote.
Na‘i Aupuni, the nonprofit staging the convention, considers it a private matter among Native Hawaiians that does not involve the state.
The latest skirmish in the case came after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction Dec. 2 blocking the counting of votes and certification of winners in that election while the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers the merits of the lawsuit.
In response, Na‘i Aupuni decided to cancel the election and instead offered all delegate candidates a chance to attend the aha, or gathering, and discuss a path to Hawaiian self-governance. Organizers said that waiting for the court case to play out would take too long.
The plaintiffs objected to Na‘i Aupuni’s move, calling it an effort to dodge the constitutional court challenge and disobey the court’s order. They asked the Supreme Court to sanction Na‘i Aupuni, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission by holding them in civil contempt of court.
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On Tuesday the high court, without comment, declined to do so.
“We’re happy. We expected it to go in our favor,” said Clyde Namuo, executive director of the Roll Commission, which compiled the list of eligible Hawaiian voters for the election. “We still feel we are going to prevail in the 9th Circuit.”
Na‘i Aupuni attorney William Meheula said last month that because the election was canceled and the votes will never be counted, the lawsuit seeking to stop the election should be moot, and his clients intend to seek its dismissal.
The 9th Circuit Court is still reviewing the original ruling by U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright that would have allowed voting to proceed. The plaintiffs appealed that decision to the 9th Circuit and also filed an emergency motion to block the votes from being counted.
Akina is looking forward to having the case heard.
“The Supreme Court has only denied a temporary remedy related to our case,” Akina said in a statement Tuesday. “We remain confident that when the full case is argued before the 9th Circuit Court or Supreme Court, it will prevail on its merits.”
At last count, 154 delegate candidates were planning to attend the four-week convention next month. They will consider various options for Native Hawaiians to achieve self-governance, in hopes of reaching a consensus. Peter Adler and Linda Colburn of The Mediation Center of the Pacific have been retained as facilitators.
10 responses to “High court refuses to sanction convention leaders”
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Piracy is alive and well in Hawaii. And pray tell, where exactly are these pirates getting their funding from? Governments used pirates to steal the wealth of others back in the day. A state government is not a national government and its piracy is silly, ineffective and ultimately doomed to flop.
Don’t give up at the hundredth time. That 101th time maybe the lucky shot.
I am currently forming the Committee of Safety, aka Citizen’s Committee of Public Safety. The goal of our Committee is to overthrow any “Kingdom” which may be established here in Hawaii.
Well you win some and you loose some. Now let the talking begin
Nai Aupuni proceeding with the Aha, with a future decision of the 9th Circuit Court of appeals hanging over their head, is not pono. Any decision by the group will have no standing except with the group attending the meeting. All discussions and decisions will not have validation and support similar to the July 17, 1893 Blount Report to President Cleveland.
Not true it very pono . there was no election and no ballots were counted.The who reason why President Keli‘i Akina filed this lawsuit was to tie it up in the courts until they hoped a republican president takes office in 2017. now that does not seem like a very pono thing that President Keli‘i Akina did
Nope….how did you come to that legal opinion?? Point in fact, the current process, actually is dovetailing how many state native entities achived federal recognition.
Hi Boo, came to my opinion because the Nai Aupuni’s Aha is an informal family gathering. Going get plenty talk and huki-huki, and any decision made only impacts them and no one else. After the Aha, they can present their decisions to the DOI, or the U.S. Congress without any legal basis and support. The Aha will be a big talk story and make you feel good session, nothing else.
Also, that the supreme court already said they are a racial group and not a native group would seem to negate the idea that they are following a standard native pathway as in other states. That group is still bound by language in the HAA that neutralizes the very federal pathway Prof Boo deems them to be on, when they are upon a closer look, not.
Disagree. If a majority of Hawaii organizations ratify whatever agreements come out of the Aha, then it may carry weight in DOI decision-making