Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 9, 1 September 2008 — Kamehameha Schools again under siege [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kamehameha Schools again under siege

KS also files suit against previous plaintiff Doe

By ī. Ilihia Giūnsan Publicatiūns Editur

Anew lawsuit is again challenging the KS admissions policy in U.S. District Court. And in an unrelated suit, Kamehameha

is suing previous plaintiffs lohn and lane Doe for breaching a confidentiality agreement in their May 2007 settlement with the estate. On Aug. 6, attorneys Eric Grant and David Rosen filed a suit on behalf of four ehikken and their families who seek an end to Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy favoring Native Hawaiians. The lawsuit is ahnost identical to the 2003 lawsuit filed on behalf of lohn Doe, whieh Kamehameha settled last year as the U.S. Supreme Court was deciding whether to hear an appeal of the case. "These attorneys and their plaintiffs attack more than Kamehameha Schools and our mission; it is an attack on our history, our heritage and the values of Hawai'i, held by so many here and around the world," Kamehameha Schools trustees said

in an open letter. "We enter into this battle from a position of strength, well-prepared to defend our admissions policy and with legal precedent at the 9th Circuit Court level on our side." In 2005 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the legality of the school's admissions policy, the letter said. In a press release, Grant, an attorney, said: "The purpose of (the new lawsuit) is to obtain a definitive ruling from the Supreme Court that the Trustees' racially exclusionary admissions policy violates our nation's civil rights laws. Our clients believe, and we agree with them, that such a ruling will have a significant impact in reversing unfortunate trends towards discrimination and even segregation in Hawai'i." Asked how this suit differs from the virtually identical suit filed in 2003, Rosen replied, "Our intent is to get a decision from the Supreme Court." He said it is unlikely that his clients would agree to a settlement like the one that ended the last suit. That settlement is at the center of a lawsuit the school filed regarding an alleged breach of confidentiality by one of the attorneys in the lohn Doe suit. Kamehameha is seeking to recoup some of the $7 million settlement. In I une 2003 , attorney s lohn Goemans and Eric Grant filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of the Does seeking admission into Kamehameha Schools. The lawsuit sparked outrage in the Hawaiian community, and ended with a confidential settlement between the parties, whieh stipulated that those who signed the settlement, including counsel, would not disclose the real names of the student plaintiffs or any tenn of the settlement. This February, attorney lohn Goemans disclosed details of the settlement to various Hawai'i media in violation of the settlement agreement. As a result, Grant filed lawsuits in California seeking judgments that he did not breach the agreement. A similar suit was filed by the Does, whieh also asked that Kamehameha Schools not reveal their identities. I

"Our intent is to get ū decision from the Supreme Court," said ūttorney Dovid Rosen, adding that a settlement like the one that ended ū previous Iūwsuit is not likely. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom