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County wins OIP case
By The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Kaua‘i County Council in its case against the state Office of Information Practices regarding its right to consult with attorneys in an executive session to consider an investigation of the Kaua‘i Police Department.
The five justices on Oct. 26 issued their order affirming judgment on appeal thereby permitting the earlier Intermediate Court’s judgment to stand unchanged.
On Jan. 20, 2005, the council met in executive session to determine whether to conduct an investigation of KPD. The next day the chair of the Kaua‘i Police Commission asked the Office of Information Practices whether the posting of the executive session was proper, according to a press release from the County Attorney’s Office received via e-mail Friday afternoon.
To determine this issue, OIP asked to review the minutes of the executive session.
On April 14, 2005, after its review of the confidential minutes, OIP raised a new issue by way of a letter opinion which asserted that the convening of the executive session violated statutory procedure, the release says. OIP ordered the minutes be made public except for an unidentified portion protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Following the OIP opinion, others asked for access to the minutes.
The council tried to convince OIP to rescind its decision based on a number of statutory factors including attorney-client privilege but OIP refused to reverse its decision.
The council, facing civil and criminal liability for failure to make the minutes public, filed a lawsuit in the Kaua‘i Circuit Court on June 17, 2005, challenging the OIP decision.
The issue of whether the executive session minutes should be made public as claimed by OIP was submitted to the Kaua‘i Court for its determination, the release says. On Dec. 7, 2007, the Kaua‘i Court granted the council’s motion to withhold the minutes from disclosure because “... although the principles behind the sunshine laws serve an important purpose, there are compelling reasons for respecting and preserving the attorney-client privilege, that is also afforded to public agencies.”
OIP appealed the Kaua‘i Court ruling. On Jan. 30, 2009, three judges of the Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the Kaua‘i Court ruling in favor of the council to withhold release of the executive session minutes. OIP appealed to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court seeking to overturn the Intermediate Court of Appeals decision.
The Hawai‘i Supreme Court held oral argument on Aug. 10, 2009.
The council was represented by special counsel David Minkin and Becky Chestnut before the Kaua‘i Court, the Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.
OIP attorneys and county lawyers could not be reached Friday evening for further comment before press time. See an upcoming edition of The Garden Island for more information.
The five justices on Oct. 26 issued their order affirming judgment on appeal thereby permitting the earlier Intermediate Court’s judgment to stand unchanged.
On Jan. 20, 2005, the council met in executive session to determine whether to conduct an investigation of KPD. The next day the chair of the Kaua‘i Police Commission asked the Office of Information Practices whether the posting of the executive session was proper, according to a press release from the County Attorney’s Office received via e-mail Friday afternoon.
To determine this issue, OIP asked to review the minutes of the executive session.
On April 14, 2005, after its review of the confidential minutes, OIP raised a new issue by way of a letter opinion which asserted that the convening of the executive session violated statutory procedure, the release says. OIP ordered the minutes be made public except for an unidentified portion protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Following the OIP opinion, others asked for access to the minutes.
The council tried to convince OIP to rescind its decision based on a number of statutory factors including attorney-client privilege but OIP refused to reverse its decision.
The council, facing civil and criminal liability for failure to make the minutes public, filed a lawsuit in the Kaua‘i Circuit Court on June 17, 2005, challenging the OIP decision.
The issue of whether the executive session minutes should be made public as claimed by OIP was submitted to the Kaua‘i Court for its determination, the release says. On Dec. 7, 2007, the Kaua‘i Court granted the council’s motion to withhold the minutes from disclosure because “... although the principles behind the sunshine laws serve an important purpose, there are compelling reasons for respecting and preserving the attorney-client privilege, that is also afforded to public agencies.”
OIP appealed the Kaua‘i Court ruling. On Jan. 30, 2009, three judges of the Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the Kaua‘i Court ruling in favor of the council to withhold release of the executive session minutes. OIP appealed to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court seeking to overturn the Intermediate Court of Appeals decision.
The Hawai‘i Supreme Court held oral argument on Aug. 10, 2009.
The council was represented by special counsel David Minkin and Becky Chestnut before the Kaua‘i Court, the Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.
OIP attorneys and county lawyers could not be reached Friday evening for further comment before press time. See an upcoming edition of The Garden Island for more information.
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