2007 in Review: Hawaii Supreme Court Rewrites the Constitution

In August, by a 3-2 vote, the Hawaii Supreme Court determined that the term "county" in article VIII, section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution means "county councils."  The majority held that only county councils may establish property tax policies, and that voters of the county have no power to do so directly by amending their county charter. 

The majority first determined that it was perfectly acceptable for government officials to be both the plaintiffs and the defendants, and sue each other in a friendly lawsuit in which the County Attorney represented both sides.  The majority also approved of the county council hiring a private law firm to prosecute the case in which it was a defendant, with $250,000 of public funds.

The dissenting justices accused the majority of "subverting the judicial process" by ignoring standing and justiciability requirements by rearranging the parties after oral arguments, and by attributing the arguments of the defendants to the plaintiff.  Disclosure: I had a dog in this hunt, as I was counsel for the homeowners/intervenors who challenged the collusive lawsuit. 

Here are all the inversecondemnation.com posts on the case: opinion, briefs, oral argument transcripts, commentary, and the Wall Street Journal's take on the case.