Kaʻū News Briefs, Friday, April 7, 2023

Three of the 14 youth plaintiffs suing state of Hawai'i's Department of Transportation  to stop pollution. Photo from Earthjustice

    Protecting the environment for the future of children was an argument also used less than a month ago in the Hu Honua biomass power plant case, when the Supreme Court of Hawai‘i upheld a decision to deny the plant’s operation due to its impact on climate change, ruling that a life-sustaining climate system is protected by the state constitution. The plant would have used farmed eucalyptus trees grown around Pahala and at other tree farms on the island.
    In his concurrence, Justice Mike Wilson cited Juliana v. United States, as well as an article by Our Children’s Trust Senior Litigation Attorney Andrea Rodgers, in reasoning that “the right to a life-sustaining climate system is also included in the due process right to ‘life, liberty, [and] property’ enumerated in Article I, section 5 and the public trust doctrine embodied in Article XI, section 1’s mandate that the State of Hawaiʻi ‘conserve and protect Hawaiʻi’s… natural resources [f]or the benefit of present and future generations[s].’”
    Navahine F. v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, filed in June 2022, contends the DOT operates a transportation system that emits high levels of greenhouse gasses, violating the youth plaintiffs’ state constitutional rights, causing them significant harm, and impacting their ability to “live healthful lives in Hawaiʻi now and into the future,” according to the complaint.
    According to Earth Justice, Hawai‘i is recognized as a leader in state-level climate action, yet has missed every interim benchmark to reduce overall GHG emissions since 2008. "Transportation emissions are already the largest source of climate pollution in the state and are expected to rise 41 percent over the next decade. The youth plaintiffs are seeking to hold Hawai'i's Department of Transportation accountable to ensure they meet the state’s goal to decarbonize Hawaiʻi’s transportation sector and achieve a zero emissions economy by 2045."
    Lead attorneys Andrea Rodgers, with Our Children’s Trust; and Leinā‘ala L. Ley, with Earthjustice, responded to the decision that will allow the case to go forward:

Earthjustice attorney Leinā‘ala L. Ley

    Rodgers said, “Judge Crabtree recognized that these young people are entitled to have their constitutional rights to a safe climate protected by the Courts. The ruling makes it clear that the state government will be held accountable to comply with its own commitments to address the climate crisis, and that elected leaders can’t just talk about solving the climate emergency, without real emission reductions from transportation.”
    Ley said, “We are pleased that the Court rejected the Defendants’ attempt to shut the courthouse door on the youth Plaintiffs. These young people can now pursue their constitutional claims to a clean and healthful environment and for protection of Hawaiʻi’s public trust resources on the merits. As recognized by the other branches of government, Hawai‘i is facing an existential climate emergency, and it’s past time for the Department of Transportation to do its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the next generation’s right to a healthy future on a livable planet.”
    Kaliko T, one of the younger plaintiffs, said, “I am glad that my story is helping to advance climate action in Hawaiʻi. I don’t want anyone else to suffer the way I and my family have. Her home was destroyed in a flood during Tropical Storm Olivia, while her community was still recovering from massive wildfires sparked by Hurricane Lane in 2018.    Plaintiff Kalālapa W. said, “It is reassuring to have a court acknowledge our right to hold the Transportation Department accountable for their contribution to the climate crisis. I am excited to finally get to the substance of our claims.” 
    Lead plaintiff in the youth lawsuit, Mavajome F, from a tenth generation taro farming family, said, “I and my fellow plaintiffs are holding this so-called state of Hawaiʻi to its own promises and its own laws because we have a fundamental right to a safe climate. We will not allow our public trust resources to be further desecrated by state agencies working to make the climate crisis worse for all of us.”
    The youth plaintiffs are represented by Andrea Rodgers, Kimberly Willis, and Joanna Zeigler with Our Children’s Trust, and Isaac Moriwake and Leinā‘ala L. Ley of Earthjustice. This is one of several youth-led constitutional climate lawsuits brought by Our Children’s Trust with local counsel like Earthjustice’s Mid-Pacific Office. 

    See more on Earthjustice in Hawai'i at https://earthjustice.org/office/mid-pacific. See more on Our Children's Trust at https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/hawaii.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS is the target of the Senate Judiciary Committee member Mazie Hirono and collegues. They sent a letter Friday asking for an ethics investigation involving Thomas's "extensive billionaire-funded luxury travel and other outstanding allegations of misconduct." 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Photo from Wikipedia

  A statement from Hirono, who represents Hawai'i in the. U.S. Senate, says the letter "comes a day after a bombshell ProPublica report exposed that Justice Thomas and his wife accepted extravagant vacations worth as much as $500,000 on the dime of Republican megadonor Harlan Crow." 

    The letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court says, "In light of yesterday's reporting by ProPublica that Justice Clarence Thomas has repeatedly accepted and failed to disclose gifts and travel from billionaire Harlan Crow, we write to request an investigation into these and other outstanding allegations of unethical, and potentially unlawful, conduct at the Supreme Court. To date, the Court has barely acknowledged, much less investigated, these allegations. Amidst all of this—perhaps due in part to the Court's inaction—the American people's trust in the Supreme Court has plummeted to an all-time low. We believe that it is your duty as Chief Justice 'to safeguard public faith in the judiciary,' and that fulfilling that duty requires swift, thorough, independent and transparent investigation into these allegations."
    In February, Hirono joined Senator Whitehouse and Rep. Johnson in reintroducing the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act, comprehensive legislation that would create a process for investigating misconduct at the Supreme Court, strengthen recusal standards for judges and disclosure rules for special interests trying to influence the courts, improve disclosure of gifts and travel for judges, and mandate the creation of a binding code of ethics. The SCERT Act would require the Supreme Court to adopt disclosure rules for gifts, travel, and income that are at least as rigorous as ethics rules for members of Congress.
    "ProPublica's reporting underscores a disturbing disregard for transparency and ethics on the Supreme Court," said Hirono. "Americans should be able to trust that Supreme Court Justices apply the law fairly and objectively, but the Court's lack of a code of ethics rightfully undermines the public's faith in our judiciary. If the Court won't adopt a code of ethics, Congress needs to require it to, which is why we've introduced legislation to do exactly that."