District Court rules in Hawaiian sovereignty case

June 20, 2011

Hawaii: Judge Joseph P. Florendo, Jr. says that Hawaii is no longer governed by the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii, setting the stage for a potential showdown between Hawaiian activists and property owners. Activists along Kawa Bay have restricted access to property adjacent to a parcel owned by the county, refusing to leave the land lived on for twenty years. Abel Liu, the Land Manager and named defendant in the suit against Olsen Trust, claims that the trust's ownership is not permissible, since the deed does not conform with the 19th century form.

The judge disagreed with that assertion and the lack of a deed from Liu. He also noted that the previous property owner attempt to have the defendant removed from the property in 2002. Once a writ of possession is granted, the county will have the activists ejected from the land. The government's goal is to turn the property into a protected park, but have until June 30 to make the deal, based on potential state and federal funding.