We will be posting the transcript — perhaps with some analysis thrown in — of tomorrow’s Supreme Court oral arguments as soon as it becomes available, but in the meantime, here is the latest:

• David Shapiro posts “Senate sends mixed signals on ceded lands” on his Volcanic Ash blog: “Given that neither the governor nor the Legislature plan to sell cededlands anytime soon, you  wonder why OHA didn’t pursue this kind ofpolitical agreement in the first place instead of pressing the issue incourt and exposing themselves to the unintended consequences they fearfrom an adverse ruling by the Supreme Court.” The old adage of “be careful of what you wish for…” seems to apply here, since many seem to forget or overlook the fact that OHA raised the issue now before the Supreme Court.

• From the Star-Bulletin: “Lingle pressed on ceded-lands suit” – “The state House

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Continue Reading The Latest On The “Ceded Lands” Case

U.S. Supreme Court cases — especially when they arise in your back yard — always garner a lot of attention, and the ceded lands case being argued on Wednesday, February 25 is no exception.  Here’s a run down of the latest:

• The Sunday Star-Bulletin ran a front-page above-the-fold story, “Battle over ceded lands.” (“But native Hawaiian groups fear that the U.S.Supreme Court might go beyond whether the state can sell the lands anddeclare that the state has unfettered rights to the ceded lands thatwould undermine native Hawaiian claims to the property. NativeHawaiian groups also believe that if OHA prevails and the ban is leftintact, they would be in a better bargaining position for a settlementbecause the state would be hamstrung with the restriction on sales andtransfers.ClydeNamuo, OHA executive director, said such an outcome would give”leverage for the native Hawaiian community” and also preserve the landas a source for

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Continue Reading Another “Ceded Lands” Case Round-Up

Thanks to @georgettedeemer, the Communications Director of the Hawaii House of Representatives for getting word out that the Hawaii House has passed S.C.R. No. 40, a resolution “Urging the Governor and the Attorney General to withdraw the appeal to the United States Supreme Court of the Hawaii State Supreme Court decision, Office of Hawaiian Affairs v. Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, 117 Hawaii 174 (2008).”  It is being reported that the measure passed, but with 23 “with reservations” and two no votes.

This of course involves the “ceded lands” case. [Disclosure: we filed an amicus brief in the case, supporting the State’s arguments.]  This resolution is symbolic, since the Lingle Administration has never appeared to possess any inclination to withdraw the state’s request for SCOTUS review, especially after expending a huge amount of legal capital to get the Court to consider the case…

Continue Reading Hawaii House Passes Resolution Urging “Withdrawal” Of The “Ceded Lands” Case

Although it was mostly a formality, the US Supreme Court today granted the acting US Solicitor General’s motion to present oral argument and for divided oral argument in the “ceded lands” case at next week’s arguments. The Obama Administration had asked to present oral argument as an amicus to support the State’s position, and to take 10 minutes of time.  What this means is that oral arguments next Wednesday will consist of 20 minutes by the State, 10 minutes by the Obama Administration, and 30 minutes by OHA.

After the SG’s office asked for argument time (as noted here), we assumed the Court would grant the request, since it is rarely denied. The SG is sometimes labeled the “tenth Justice,” since the Court pays close attention to its views when it participates in a case as amicus.  Here, the SG’s brief supporting the State was filed by the Bush…

Continue Reading Obama Administration Granted SCOTUS Face Time In “Ceded Lands” case

SCOTUSblog posts “Argument Preview:  Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs,” which is a summary of the case and the briefs of the parties:

This case has attracted considerable attention. Including the United States’s brief, seven amicus briefs were filed in support of the State, most notably a brief on behalf of thirty-two states arguing that the decision below violates principles of federalism. Ten amicus briefs were filed in support of OHA. Several of those briefs raised issues that were not addressed by the parties’ briefs. The Mountain States Legal Foundation filed a brief supporting the State in which it addressed the question whether Native Hawaiians deserve special deference from Congress similar to that given to American Indians; the Alaska Federation for Natives filed a brief in response. Another related argument, whether recognizing Native Hawaiian claims to land constitutes a race-based preference in violation of the Equal Protection Clause…

Continue Reading SCOTUSblog’s Preview Of The “Ceded Lands” Oral Arguments

As the Supreme Court oral argument in the “ceded lands” case, Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, No. 07-1372 (cert.granted Oct. 1, 2008), draws nigh, public interest in the case is peaking. We will be covering the arguments, which begin at 10am EST (5am HST) on Wednesday, February 25, 2009. The Obama Administration will also have 10 minutes of argument, supporting the State of Hawaii.

There is no live stream or direct coverage, but the transcript is usually released later in the day and we will post it here — along with some thoughts — as soon as it is released.

In the meantime, a couple of updates:

• The Hawaii Legislature appears to be on the verge of enacting legislation to halt any transfer of the ceded lands (see “Ceded lands bill advances; lets Legislature stop sales” and “Ceded lands fight headed to an artful compromise

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Continue Reading “Ceded Lands” Case Round-Up