Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 4, 1 April 1999 — RACE AND VOTING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RACE AND VOTING

B y Paula Durbin THE OFFICE of Hawaiian Affairs and Native Hawaiian rights were catapulted into the nahonal spothght recently when the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Kamuela rancher Harold Freddy Rice's appeal in Rice vs. Cayetano. The Supreme Court has broad discretion as to whether it will accept an appeal from a lower court's decision or not. Of the hundreds of petitions whose fate was announced on March 22, almost all had been denied. Rice vs. Cayetano is one of only two from that round of cases whieh the court decided to review. So it has attracted the attention of

media ffom coast to coast, and of legal scholars who insist, regardless of the ouleome, Native Hawaiian rights will be impacted. Rice, who traces his kama'aina roots back to his great-great grandparents, originally filed suit against the state in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai'i because, since he is not of Hawaiian ancestry, he was not allowed to vote for trustee candidates in the 1996 OHA elections. Rice lost the case, and his attomey, John Goemans, appealed to the Ninth Circuit Comt of Appeals, whieh agreed with the district court. The appeal to the Supreme Court is being handled by Washington

attomey Theodore Olson, who has been described as "well-eon-nected" because, among other reasons, he enjoyed several key appointments under President Ronald Reagan. According to television reporter Denby Fawcett, both Goemans and Olson have taken Rice's case on a pro bono basis. It is not yet clear • who will represent the state at the Supreme Court. - Beginning with his inihal complaint, Rice has steadily alleged that the system by whieh OHA trustees are elected violates the I5th Amendment to the United States Constitution, whieh prohibits denying any See Courts on page 9

FRONTPAGENEWS U.S. Supreme Court to review Rice us. Cayetano