Hawaiian Sovereignty: State Supreme Court ruling prohibits State from selling Ceded Lands

Although Hawaiian Sovereignty seems like a pipe dream to some Americans, the State Supreme Court seems to think that there is some sort of claim to be made.

In a controversial ruling on January 31st 2008, the Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled that the State of Hawaii did not have the authority to sell or transfer ceded lands.

This case dates back to 1995 when the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) filed an injunction against the State of Hawaii to prevent them from selling off any of the ceded lands for any reason.

This came about because there was an imminent sale of two parcels of land from the some 1.8 million acres of ceded land OHA had conditionally approved the sale of this land, in 1992, before the 1993 Apology Bill. When President Clinton signed the Apology Bill into law, OHA was forced to take a different stance on the sale.

The State Supreme Court understood why. The Apology Bill recognized that (1) the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii was illegal; (2) the taking of crown, government, and public lands of the Kingdom was without consent or compensation; and (3) "the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims ... over their lands to the United States."

OHA knew that to sell the land after this Bill came into law, would be a violation of the public trust, that was a condition of the State of Hawaii Admission Act.

The State Supreme Court recognized the relationship of the Bill and the public land trust by quoting part of Section 5 of the Admission Act in their ruling.

This section of the act, that admitted Hawaii as a State, specifically states that the ceded lands will be held by the State as a public trust.

The newest development in this case comes from the current administration. The State Supreme Court has ruled that the State is not the owners of the land, just the trustees, and can not sell it. However the Hawaii States Attorney Office has appealed this decision to the US Supreme Court.

Hawaii State Attorney General Mark Bennet, was very outspoken in his position on this case. It is his belief that the State should be allowed to do whatever they like with the lands, because they are the owners.

His office filed for a Writ of Ceratiorari on April 29th 2008, asking for the United States Supreme Court to overturn this decision. His office also released this press release, to further explain the states position.

OHA responded with their own press release , expressing their confidence that the highest court in the US would uphold the decision, stopping the State from selling any of the crown lands that the US holds. They also expressed their disappointment in the State for pursuing this case further.

The US Supreme Court will probably decide by November if they will hear this case, or let the ruling stand.

All in all the road to Hawaiian Sovereignty might have just got a major roadblock removed, with the highest court in the State recognizing the weight of the Apology Bill.

To look at some of the treaties that Hawaii held at the time of the overthrow, follow this link.