An attorney representing Maui County before Hawaii’s Supreme Court conceded Thursday that Maui doesn’t have a process for preserving property or allowing people to reclaim possessions after homeless encampment “sweeps,” unlike Oahu, even though those protections have been judged necessary by Hawaii’s courts to preserve people’s due process rights.

Maui hasn’t conducted a sweep since September 2021, when it destroyed property from encampments in Kanaha. That prompted an American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii lawsuit, arguing for more protections. Maui lost that case in Circuit Court; county attorney Bradley Sova was arguing Maui’s appeal on Thursday.