In a segment called “Are the Courts Crazy?,” (their title, not ours!), Kelii Akina and I chat about the recent decisions in the Thirty Meter Telescope case, the pig hunting as a traditional and customary native Hawaiian practice case, Hawaii’s new Environmental Court, and the challenge to the Hawaiians-only election
The View Of The Nai Aupuni Election From Washington, D.C.
Hawaii is either 5 or 6 hours behind Eastern Time, depending on the time of year (we don’t adhere to Daylight Savings Time), so we’re a quarter-day behind the part of the country where a lot — if not most — of the important things legal, financial, and political occur. Scheduling conference calls can
Carts Before Horses, And Pearls Before Swine: The Hawaii Supreme Court’s Fractured Rationale For Invalidating The TMT Permit
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the telescope Thirty Meter. Its five year continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out a Conservation District Use Permit from the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and navigate the treacherous waters of Hawaii administrative law. To boldly go where twelve other
Justice Kennedy Temporarily Halts “Hawaiians Only” Election
The latest news in a fast-moving election law case, about the validity of a Hawaiians-only election to choose delegates to a constitutional convention about the issue of Hawaiian national sovereignty: this morning, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy issued this order which temporarily puts a stop to the counting of the ballots. An extraordinary move, but one
It’s Here – 2016 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference: Complete Agenda, Faculty, Registration Information
Here’s the full agenda for the 2016 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation / Condemnation 101 Conference, January 28-30, 2016, in Austin, Texas.
Together with our friend and colleague Joe Waldo, we think we’re put together a pretty good program that covers a lot of ground. This is the first time the conference has been
Federal Court: Virginia’s Entry Statute Not Facially Unconstitutional
Our friend and colleague Alan Ackerman posted a note on his blog about a recent District Court ruling from the Western District of Virginia which upheld the power of a potential condemnor to enter property for the purposes of survey, without formally taking the property. See “Virginia Federal Judge Follows What May Be the
Introduction To The Civil Forfeiture Panel At The 2015 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference
Earlier today, I moderated a panel of expert speakers on the topic of “Civil Forfeiture of Property” at the 12th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Sara Sun Beale of Duke Law, Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice, and Sandra Guerra Thompson of the University of Houston
Hawaii Federal Court Gets Rid Of Most Claims Against Land Use Commission, But Allows Takings And Vested Rights Claims To Go Forward
Here’s the latest in a case that we’ve been following, which was in both state and federal court, Bridge Aina Lea v. Land Use Comm’n.
The litigation is a series of two lawsuits that originated in state court in the Third Circuit (Big Island), one an original jurisdiction civil rights lawsuit, the other
Not Quite “Where No Man Has Gone Before” – Hawaii Supreme Court Considers Mauna Kea’s 30 Meter Telescope
Oral Arguments part I
Oral Arguments part II
Three points before we get to our more involved thoughts on last week’s oral arguments in what is known as the “Thirty Meter Telescope” case, Mauna Kea Anaina Hou v. Bd. of Land and Natural Resources, No. SCAP-14-0000873:
- Appellate oral arguments are not necessarily an accurate
Federal Court: City Stopped Blowing Hot And Cold And Had Exclusive Possession Of Property Under Quick-Take Statute, So It Was OK To Seize Anti-Eminent Domain Sign
You remember that case about property on the rural north shore of Oahu, in which the City and County of Honolulu is condemning a vacant parcel in order to build a new fire station. The City hasn’t moved on building the station and hasn’t included money in the budget to do so. There’s even some question