Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 11, 1 November 1999 — Trustees at Supreme Court hearing [ARTICLE]

Trustees at Supreme Court hearing

By Paula Durbin WHEN THE United States Supreme Court heard arguments Oct. 6 in Rice vs. Cayetano , a constitutional challenge to the voting setup for trustees of Office of Hawaiian Affairs, several OHA trustees made the trip to Washington, D.C. Chair Rowena Akana and Trustees Haunani Apoliona, Louis Hao, Clayton Hee, Colette Machado, Hannah Springer and Mililani Trask were in attendance to hear firsthand the final arguments in a case that could affect the entire state of Hawai'i. Eaeh attorney in the Rice appeal was allocated half an hour in whieh to present his client's case, and the attorney for Harold "Freddy" Rice was allowed to save a short period for rebuttal. Of its 30 minutes, the State of Hawai'i, represented by Washington attorney John Roberts, had 20 minutes. The other ten were granted to Edwin Kneedler of the Office of the Solicitor General, who argued for amicus curiae, the United States of America. Kneedler eon-

firmed the United States government's support for the validity of the Hawai'i law restricting participation in OHA elections to voters of Hawaiian ancestry. But Theodore Ōlson, Rice's attorney, who was first to argue, was only a few minutes into his argument when the justices began to interject questions. When it was their turn, Roberts and Kneedler were interrupted even earlier. Another volley of interrogation cut into Olson's rebuttal "Looking at the questions after having been in the court room," Chair Akana recalled, "the questions seem fair. But the manner in whieh they were asked seemed almost hostile, like repeat rifles. Of course, this was my first experience at the Supreme Court and my first impression might be the first impression everyone walks away with." Trustee Louis Hao commented, "It was awesome. I never in my life thought I would be attending a Supreme Court hearing. It didn't sit well with me that we had only half an hour to present 100 years of history and our attorneys were just beginning to argue went the questioning began. But I felt comforted that Justice Ginsburg seemed very worried about our trust and that it not be damaged." Īrustee Apoliona echoed Trustee Hao's encouragement at Ginsburg's line of questioning. "Two thousand years of a people is in the hands of nine human beings," she said. "Justice Ginsburg was very See RICE on page 22

RICE V S . CAYETANO

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clear on the history of Hawaiians and I hope her mana will enlighten the majority" "I felt a huge responsibility for OHA and our beneficiaries," recalled Trustee Machado. "It hit me that this could be the unraveling of the trust. So I offered a pule and called out to our kūpuna for guidance, hope and strategy." Trustee Moses Keale did not travel to the hearing and bases his concern on

media accounts. "Failure of the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize the injustices done to Hawaiians could eliminate all chances of being recognized as the indigenous peoples of our land," Keale noted. OHA's board attorney, Sherry Broder, expects a decision in Rice vi. Cayetano to be published between November and June. "I don't think anyone could predict yet what the vote would be," she added. All trustees remain committed to pursuing justice for Hawaiians, regardless of the outcome. ■