Hawai'i Legal News

  Mott v. City and County of Honolulu (ICA January 30, 2020) Background. The Honolulu Police Department keeps a daily arrest log known as a blotter. The log includes the name of the arrestee and his or her address. For years, HPD would provide a requesting member of the public blotter information containing the address. In 2017, HPD changed its policy and started to disclose only the adult arrest log, which did not include the address. Karen Mott wrote to HPD seeking disclosure of the blotter with the address. The request was denied. Mott filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory relief and an order compelling disclosure of the addresses. The City moved to dismiss the complaint. The circuit court, with the Hon. Judge Gary W. B. Chang presiding, granted the motion. Mott appealed.   The Uniform Information Practices Act Balances Open Government Against Invasion of Privacy. The State seeks to “conduct[] government business as openly as possible . . .tempered by a recognition of ...

Nu'uanu Valley Association v. City and County of HNL (HSC October 24, 2008) Background. A landowner sought to develop approximately 50 acres of steep mountainside property in upper Nu'uanu Valley. The landowner submitted an application to the City's Dept. of Planning for approval of developing nine residential lots. The Nu'uanu Valley Assocation, a non-profit organization, requested from the City copies and inspection of all comments and engineering reports pertaining to the proposed subdivision. The City explained that its comments on submitted reports are sent back to the applicant. Nothing becomes available until they have been "accepted" by the City. After the City "accepted" a drainage report, it was made available for copying. The NVA sued the City alleging violations of the Uniform Information Practices Act (HRS chapter 92F) and the Hawai'i Environmental Policy Act (HRS ch. 343) because an environmental assessment was not done. The City ...

Right to Know Committee v. City and County of HNL (ICA December 28, 2007) Background. Members of the HNL City Council introduced a resolution seeking to reorganize the Council’s standing committees. The resolution was adopted at a special meeting. Journalists reported that the council members had already discussed the resolution before the meeting was held. The Office of Information Practices (OIP) later questioned the validity of the resolution based on the Hawai’i Sunshine Law (HRS Ch. 92) because Council members had one-on-one chats about the resolution beforehand. Council members countered the OIP with memoranda of their own. Months later the Council changed the Council Rules to allow the Chair to appoint all committees w/o having to hold a special meeting. Pursuant to these new powers, Donovan Dela Cruz, the Chair at the time, appointed the same members from the older resolution. Various non-profit organizations filed a complaint alleging that the Council violated the Sunshine L...