1993 Apology Crutch

[harry]

to all:

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?query=hyscience&s_it=keyword_rollover

Reliance on apology concerns judges

A Supreme Court justice says the state high court used the Apology "as a crutch"

STORY SUMMARY

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule later this year after hearing arguments yesterday on the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision barring the state from selling or transferring 1.2 million acres of ceded lands that once belonged to the Hawaiian kingdom.

Some justices seemed troubled by the state court's reliance on the 1993 Apology Resolution, suggesting they might overturn the ruling and return the case to the state high court to decide the issue based solely on state law.

Kannon Shanmugam, an attorney for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said OHA would welcome that move because the state court - despite language to the contrary in its ruling - intended to base its decision on state law.

Attorney General Mark Bennett asked the justices to overturn the state court's decision, but OHA supporters and others fear that a wide-ranging decision by the justices could undermine native Hawaiian claims to the ceded lands.

— Ken Kobayashi

Comment: None!

With Aloha,