Sacramento attorney Eric Grant and Honolulu attorney David Rosen have filed another lawsuit challenging Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policy which gives preference to native Hawaiians, reported the Honolulu Star-Bulletin today.
Kekoa Paulsen, a spokesman for Kamehameha Schools, said the school officials have been expecting the lawsuit. “We are certainly prepared to defend our policy.”
“We operate entirely as a private organization and our mission is to correct imbalances that were created years ago,” Paulsen said. “We’d rather not be in court. We’d rather be doing what we need to do. We’d rather not have the distraction of having to argue this thing again and just go on with doing our business.”
…
The schools’ lawsuit against John Doe seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages. Grant had no comment on the schools’ lawsuit.
No Comments // Posted on August 6, 2008 // doe
Noelani at the Hawaiians Unite blog shares her thoughts on the alleged settlement figure related to the Doe lawsuit:
I want to remind all of us that this revelation by attorney John Goemans is not necessarily true. And even if it is true, remember that this case was poised to be heard by an extremely conservative U.S. Supreme Court. So the trustees, in settling the case for whatever amount, were wise in delaying the consideration of this type of lawsuit by the high court.
Read the rest of the post. My personal thoughts here.
No Comments // Posted on February 10, 2008 // doe
Aloha mai kakou,
It has been an eventful week for all of us connected to Pauahi’s Legacy, with much to rejoice in, but also something that many deplore.
This time of year always reminds us of how blessed we are to have Pauahi’s legacy. It is when several hundred students on our campuses and in the Hawaiian-focused charters schools we support receive their diplomas, passionate about their heritage, well-prepared for their future and fully committed to carrying forward Pauahi’s legacy. The pride in our young graduates’ faces makes us feel proud as well. So does the easy blend of Hawaiian language and culture in our commencement ceremonies, and the knowledge that thousands of pre-school aged Hawaiians are better prepared for Kindergarten and that hundreds of college-aged Hawaiian students have the financial support they need to continue their education.
This time of year also reinforces that we have many thousands more to serve, a resolve that was only strengthened by another assault on our private legacy last week.
As you know, a private attorney cast a hook for plaintiffs in a class-action suit, and the media eagerly swallowed the bait, offering this attorney a generous amount of free publicity. We know their hope is that we will respond in kind. We will not. We have, by resolving the Doe lawsuit, solidified our protection at the Appeals Court level. Negotiation over terms of a theoretical lawsuit is unnecessary.
So our response will take place not in the form of a published Op-Ed, but in the form of this communication to Pauahi’s intended beneficiaries and those who have stood strong as supporters of our policy and our mission. We know the rightness of our cause. We know that we are not a publicly-funded “social service,” but a privately funded trust set up to provide an educational remedy for the Indigenous people of these islands. We know that by directing our resources to those Pauahi intended us to serve does not make others “second-class citizens.” On the contrary, it was the Native Hawaiians who were marginalized in their own homeland and whose resurgence into vitality and health Pauahi envisioned.
We wish we could offer this attorney – and any who share his view — a chance to visit the homeless encampments where so many of our people reside. We’d offer him a visit to the state’s prisons and crowded homesteads and to spend a day in the public schools that are failing the standards set by No Child Left Behind. Where is the equality in these places, which are so over-represented by our people?
We wish we could offer him a visit to the charter schools we support and the programs run by our private collaborators and partners. We wish he could see for himself the great strides that are being made in Hawaiian-focused charter schools – even as many of these schools operate in difficult conditions on makeshift campuses. We wish he could witness the interaction between our parents and caregivers and their kamali’i, and see for himself how these bonds will become the foundation of confidence that leads to success in school and in life. We feel certain that he will understand that by following Pauahi’s vision, her legacy is truly shared by all.
We wish we could help him see the narrowness of his vision. This is not about race. It is about restoration.
That’s our wish. Our reality is that we will not let this skirmish distract us from our mission and purpose. Let us all take every chance to educate others about our history and our mission. And when there is no chance for understanding, let us simply move forward to put what we know to be right into practice.
Me ka ha`aha`a,
J. Douglas Ing, Chair, Board of Trustees
Nainoa Thompson, Vice Chair
Diane J. Plotts, Secretary/Treasurer
Robert K.U. Kihune
Corbett A.K. Kalama
Dee Jay A. Mailer, Chief Executive Officer
No Comments // Posted on May 30, 2007 // Uncategorized
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Honolulu is investigating attorney actions by David Rosen involving an email he sent soliciting plaintiffs for another lawsuit against the Kamehameha Schools.
If you received his e-mail (even if through a long chain of “forwards”), please send copies of each e-mail you have received containing Mr. Rosen’s e-mail to their office immediately. They are trying to piece together a picture of exactly how far and wide his e-mail was circulated, if that is indeed true.
You do not need to file a formal complaint, and you can remain anonymous. Or you can file a formal complaint, which would involve having an investigator from their office call you to interview you over the phone regarding how many times you received his forwarded e-mail yourself.
If you decide to file a formal complaint, please provide your contact phone number when you send them the print-outs of the e-mails you received. If you decide to remain anonymous, just send the print-outs and don’t worry if your name is on the e-mails - they will keep your information confidential.
The address you should send all print-outs of these e-mails to is as follows:
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
Attn: Charles Hite
1132 Bishop St., Suite 300
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone (808) 521-4591
No Comments // Posted on // Uncategorized
From a story on KHNL.com:
“Personally, I’m extremely outraged,” says alumnae Wendie Burbridge, who attended Kamehameha School from kindergarten through 12th grade. She is one of many alumni who are upset about this news. “Kamehameha Schools is only supposed to serve Hawaiian and part Hawaiian children. It doesn’t say ‘all!’”
Burbridge is trying to rally support. “Please go to the Hawaii Judiciary website and there is a way to voice your concerns about the attorneys,” she is telling fellow school mates. (See below.) “If you want to protect (founder Bernice) Pauahi’s will and the future of Kamehameha Schools for our children and grandchildren, please consider voicing your opinion to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Take the time to email them or send them a letter. Every action we take will only help our cause in the end. If we all start to speak out about the injustices that face Kamehameha and the Hawaiian community at large, perhaps we can make others rethink suing or becoming part of this lawsuit. Perhaps it will educate others who see Kamehameha only as a cash cow that they do not have rights in which to partake. If nothing else, do not be silent about this matter. We need to fight this like we have always done, with dignity and intelligence. Let’s beat these people at their own game. Let’s not allow them to take from us or our children.”
No Comments // Posted on // Media