When he died, Delbert E. Metzger was remembered as much for his colorful personality as he was for his prowess as a jurist.
Metzger spent much of his career fighting for civil rights and even took on martial law in Hawai'i during World War II, holding the commanding general in the Islands in contempt of court.
But "the crusty judge" was still smoking 16 cigars and drinking several bottles of beer a day toward the end of his life. He was remembered for insisting that guests to his home must drink a shot of cognac before he would allow them to leave, and also for the simple toast he would give them: "Aloha."
Metzger was born in Kansas in 1875. His father was a veteran of the Civil War. Although he earned a law degree, Metzger also tried a number of other jobs — farming, ranching, journalism, theatrical promotion and mine engineering.
He came to Hawai'i in 1899 as an engineer and helped map the lochs at Pearl Harbor and later dug artesian wells on O'ahu, Kaua'i, Ni'ihau and the Big Island.
A lifelong liberal Democrat, Metzger helped organize the party on Kaua'i. His service to the party, which lasted for 60 years, would be rewarded in 1960 when he was named to the Electoral College so he could cast the state's three votes for John F. Kennedy.
Metzger's wartime beef was with Lt. Gen. Robert C. Richardson Jr., commanding general in Hawai'i at a time when martial law had replaced all civilian authority. Metzger felt that military rule was arbitrary and unfair. When he found Richardson in contempt, Metzger fined the general $5,000.
The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately upheld Metzger's opinions on military rule, declaring that the military had illegally closed the civil courts and imposed unnecessary orders on the territorial government.
In a different case, Metzger ruled that Navy enlisted people did not lose their constitutional rights simply because they were in the Navy.
The judge also angered many when he reduced the bail of seven Hawai'i residents — including labor leader Jack Hall of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union — from $75,000 to $5,000 after they were charged with conspiring to teach the overthrow of the government.
"The practice of setting bail was never intended as a punishment of defendants before trial," he stated.
Metzger died in 1967 after a long illness. He was 92.
