Posted at 2 p.m., Monday, July 2, 2001

Judge weighing challenge to Hawaiian programs

By Jessica Webster
Advertiser Staff Writer

U.S. District Chief Judge David Ezra said today he will announce in a few weeks whether or not he will dismiss a federal case regarding native Hawaiian benefits.

Mo'ili'ili resident Patrick Barrett, 53, who is disabled, is challenging the state constitutional amendment that created the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, adopted the federal Hawaiian Home Lands Program and laid the foundation for native gathering rights on private property.

Barrett is seeking a "race neutral analysis" of his applications to OHA for a small business loan and to the Hawaiian Homes Commission for a homestead.

OHA attorney Sherry Broder says Barrett never completed the applications before he filed his complaint, and thus fails to demonstrate injury because he was never denied benefits. She contends that because Barrett is disabled and has not worked for several years, his intentions to start a printing business are not legitimate.

Barrett filed his lawsuit 25 days before he applied for a homestead.

Ezra said he will issue a written ruling on the jurisdictional issues of the case; however, his ruling should not be confused as testament to the merits of the case.

But Ezra did query Barrett's attorney William Helfand about Barrett's intentions or lack of intentions.

"There's a fine but fairly concrete line drawn by the Supreme Court between someone who brings a complaint because of a philosophical difference, and someone who tries to exercise or participate in a right, but is deferred or thwarted somehow," Ezra said. "Federal courts used to grant standing to anyone ... that is no longer the case.

"But a ruling one way or the other on this motion does not implicate the underlying merits of the case."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified plaintiff Patrick Barrett's attorney.