Cartoon COURT Report

01/19/2023

HERE WE GO!!!

Tune in to the Hawaii Supreme Court today at 2pm to hear Lance Collins, Ph.D. argue the case to ensure ALL ballots are counted to determine the outcome of the November 2022 Maui County Council Election.

A series of irregularities and mistakes occurred in the 2022 election in Maui County – resulting in 706 lawfully cast ballots not being counted.

These irregularities included:

- the process employed by the County Clerk in determining 896 return identification envelopes were "deficient"

- the inadequate notice given to voters on how to contest or cure the deficiency determinations

- the Clerk's refusal to make public the identity of the voters whose ballots were not being counted due to a deficiency determination during the cure period

The voters are asking the Supreme Court to invalidate the results and order a new election, as well as guidance with respect to the election laws implicated by the contest.

Oral arguments at the Supreme Court for the State of Hawaii are scheduled for today, January 19, 2023 at 2:00 p.m.

For the public: The oral argument will be live streamed for public viewing via Olelo Community Television and the Judiciary’s YouTube channel at: YouTube.com/hawaiicourts.

This is an important case for our democracy here in Hawai’i.

(Post credit to: Sarah Pajimola)

05/24/2021

Remember when Ige announced that construction on Mauna Kea was eminent and kūpuna and thousands of others flocked to Mauna Kea access road to stop it (again)? Well the states attorney general used (abused?) her powers in a move that seems pretty obvious was done to intimidate donors large and small from supporting the efforts. Remember they even tried to find out the names of people donating miles to kiai 😳 so they also went after KAHEA, the perpetual thorn in the side of the state when it comes to these TMT permits.

As a layperson it wasn’t entirely clear to me what the states argument was since it seemed pretty clear that KAHEA didn’t break any laws and the state basically admitted it was a fishing expedition. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Was kind of spooky actually the more times I watched it how obvious it was to me that it was completely in retaliation. Of course we have to wait on the hawaii state Supreme Court judges to decide that but the states attorney seemed to be squirming a bit.

Anyway I’m always reminded that you can’t go off the justices questions too much, but I’d put my money on KAHEA given the timeline of events, despite the state wanting the court to believe that it was really about a late 990 filing.

05/06/2020

Late coverage of yesterday's Carmichael vs BLNR, oral arguments to the Hawai'i State Supreme Court. This is the last stop, in this particular, decades-long legal battle, through which East Maui taro farmers were seeking to restore their streams and to end the State Board of Land and Natural Resources' practice of rubberstamping Alexander & Baldwin's "temporary" water permits, year after year after year, which allowed them to skirt any meaningful environmental or cultural review of the impacts of their diversions, while they carried on their century-long practice of de-watering the streams of a rural Hawaiian community

As Native Hawaiian Legal Corp Attorney Summer Sylva so powerfully articulated in her closing, too many of the original kupuna that brought this lawsuit passed away before seeing any water returned to their streams.

It was really difficult to watch the State make arguments that of course there should be an Environmental Assessment, if only they hadn't been getting away with it forever already. It was equally hard to stomach A&B and Maui County use COVID-19 as part of their argument. It felt cheap and opportunistic this late in the game.

Anyway, here's what I was able to capture, from yesterday's historic YouTube LIVE hearing. As civil beat wrote in their article a lot of it was jargony, so I tried to keep it simple. Now we wait for the ruling. I've been warned on multiple Supreme Court cases not to get my hopes up based on the Judges' questions, but they really seemed to be poking a lot of holes in the respondent's argument.

Now we wait.

05/05/2020

Well if you are late- you haven’t missed much. They spent much of the last 20 min trying to get Justice Pollack on the line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SkSQ1QlII4

05/05/2020

Crayons ready 🖍 10 am tomorrow (Tuesday)

Support the East Maui community this TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020 at 10 a.m. at their Hawaiʻi Supreme Court hearing.
Because of COVID-19 the oral arguments will be presented remotely and livestreamed for public viewing via the Judiciary’s You Tube channel at YouTube.com/hawaiicourts. Please tune in. Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation Hui o Nā Wai ʻEhā Ma Ka Hana Ka 'Ike Mana I Ka Leo Power of the Voice

03/29/2020

🥰

02/19/2020

Need 😍

Bellen Woodard was in third grade when she came home with a question. “My friends, they always called the peach crayon the skin-colored crayon,” she recalled. Why? She handed over the crayon but it made her feel “weird.” Her mom suggested that next time she hand over the brown crayon, “bec...

10/30/2019

A SURPRISE press conference was held by Maui’s Mayor Victorino this morning.

Coincidentally it was held simultaneously as the County Council meeting that was hearing an agenda item to continue challenging his unwavering conviction to bring the infamous Injection wells to the Supreme court. You know- the case that environmentalists believe is going to make Maui County responsible for undermining the Clean Water Act?

🤔 The timing is suspicious.

No really, what are the odds that this press conference wasn’t timed exactly with this council hearing which stood to challenge his own perception of authority?

Don’t you think an announcement that under his guidance as mayor, Maui County is suing the fossil fuel industry over climate change should be a TAD less spontaneous? Maybe a little thought out? S**t- he didn't even know whether they had filed the suit or not.

Perhaps the rush was because he is getting sued by OG Maui protectors Maui Tomorrow, Angus McKelvey, Uncle Keeaumoku and Archie Kalepa?! Hoping to bury that story in the press coverage with two other topics?

The Mayor’s hastily delivered announcement, to which he only alerted members of the press, was broken into three parts:

1. He’s suing the fossil fuel industry over climate change. (this had the potential to be a great announcement if the timing wasn’t so petty and the delivery not so half baked.)

2. An update on workforce and affordable housing developments (also another really important piece that deserved a more thought out presentation given the vague nature of his previous housing plans)

3. A rambling response to being sued by Maui Tomorrow and others for refusing to settle the injection well case.

Some gems from the injection well portion of the speech:

“I have told you unequivocally that I don't intend [to settle]. I would like to go to the Supreme Court. It is our time, our place. This is our time to settle this and get clear direction.”

(Did anyone else read that from the Goonies' wishing well scene? Is it just me?)

“So I, I'm really truly against injection wells. However, this is my time for the Supreme Court to give us clear and accurate direction policy that we'll make sure that all the courts, whether they are the ninth district court or the third circuit court or the fourth district court, I mean, all of the district courts right now have different opinions.”

“And you talk your home rule. This is our opportunity for home rule right now, right here we are deciding not somebody else. And the Supreme court will give direction to all of us so that there's no higher court to go to. This is it. Supreme court, is it. So I'm willing to gamble that we will be successful because we have a very strong case.

As Maui Tomorrow has said, they have a strong case- well damn. I believe we have a very strong case and we will show that we can do it the right way. And the people of Maui County will be the benefactors. They will be the benefactors.”

“I've done so much research in all of this and so I'm not afraid and if you've been watching, we've been playing our little video about our visitation to the waste treatment plant in Lahaina and I am impressed in what they've done and how did they treat the water through a tertiary service it’s almost potable, when one more treatment and we could make that water drinkable. But, unfortunately, people not even, I think people are not ready for that one.”

💩 Umm yeah. Ok. We agree on that part. I'm not ready for that one either.

I'm still spinning from how Trumpian this whole press conference feels. "Follow me and we'll reach the promised land?" Is he for real? 😳

I'm finding it hard to find the silver lining that Maui County is suing the fossil fuel industry because it was served up in a s**t sandwich, with an extra serving of petty.

How is it possible to screw up such an important announcement? sigh.

09/15/2019

Sierra Club vs. BLNR, A&B, EMI, Mahi Pono and Maui County Court Report is up! Spoiler alert, its going to go to trial, so we're just getting warmed up. In the meantime, iI'm feeling a ton of deja-vu after sitting through all of the Pohakuloa trial, which was all about how the BLNR didn't do anything to look after their tenants. In that case it was the army, in this case its A&B. Same same. Plenty time to hassle the kiai on Mauna Kea though. Anyway, the interesting thing to me was learning how much water EMI is still diverting, despite the valley being dry AF. Click through for the court exhibits, they are in the comments somewhere if you are into the whole nerdy court document thing.

On Friday, the Circuit court heard the Sierra Club's motion to rule against the Board of Land and Natural Resources for breach of the public trust doctrine as it applies to East Maui’s streams. The doctrine says that the Land Board has a legal obligation to protect the natural resources of East Maui because those resources are held in trust for the benefit of the people of Hawaiʻi, not corporate diverters. Healthy streams are essential to healthy watersheds, healthy fisheries, and healthy human communities.

While we support food production in Central Maui, it is absolutely fundamental that the water taken for that agriculture does not undermine the stream ecosystems of East Maui. The Sierra Club is suing BLNR to fulfill its legal obligation to ensure the public's natural resources are well-protected.

Ultimately the Judge ruled against the motion for summary judgement which means it will be going to trial.

09/15/2019

On Friday, the Circuit court heard the Sierra Club's motion to rule against the Board of Land and Natural Resources for breach of the public trust doctrine as it applies to East Maui’s streams. The doctrine says that the Land Board has a legal obligation to protect the natural resources of East Maui because those resources are held in trust for the benefit of the people of Hawaiʻi, not corporate diverters. Healthy streams are essential to healthy watersheds, healthy fisheries, and healthy human communities.

While we support food production in Central Maui, it is absolutely fundamental that the water taken for that agriculture does not undermine the stream ecosystems of East Maui. The Sierra Club is suing BLNR to fulfill its legal obligation to ensure the public's natural resources are well-protected.

Ultimately the Judge ruled against the motion for summary judgement which means it will be going to trial.