Felix judge slams lawmakers' probe
By David Waite and Alice Keesing
Advertiser Staff Writers
Federal Judge David Ezra yesterday angrily denounced the Legislature's investigation of possible misuse of public money in the state's attempt to fix the special education system, saying it approached obstruction of justice.
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The judge quashed a subpoena issued by a special legislative committee investigating allegations that thousands of dollars has been misspent during attempts to improve special education services as outlined in the Felix consent decree.
Federal Judge David Ezra said the legislative committee's actions "come very close to obstruction of justice."
"The process at the state Legislature has degenerated into little more than a vehicle for harassment of those attempting to meet some very important deadlines," Ezra said. He said the committee's actions "come very close to obstruction of justice."
He said the legislative committee hearings "have created a lot of publicity but have not brought to this court any evidence of mismanagement."
Ezra even compared the Legislature's ongoing proceedings to the Red-baiting McCarthy hearings in Washington, D.C., in the early 1950s to identify alleged communists and communist sympathizers.
"I don't know what the Legislature is trying to do, but I do know they won't be trying to subpoena any more court officials," the judge said.
Ezra ruled that the committee may not question Judith Schrag, who at one time worked with Ivor Groves, appointed by Ezra to monitor the state's progress in improving special education services as outlined in the Felix decree.
The committee had earlier attempted to subpoena Groves, but that was also denied.
Ezra said Groves and Schrag work for the federal court, not the state and cannot be compelled to testify before the legislative committee.
The state is facing a court takeover of the special education system this month. Ezra has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 30, when he will rule if the state has meet various benchmarks to avoid a takeover.
The committee is not a party to the Felix lawsuit and was not represented by a lawyer at yesterday's hearing but committee co-chairman Rep. Scott Saiki called Ezra's comments "unfortunate."
"I think our committee has produced specific evidence of mismanagement and waste," said Saiki, D-20th (Kapahulu, Mo'ili'ili). "There's the testimony on overbilling, on questionable contracts being awarded to unqualified providers, the way the federal court monitor has micromanaged the consent decree and imposed unrealistic deadlines on the state."
The legislative committee will meet in executive session tomorrow to discuss its options, which, at the extreme, could include finding a way to appeal the judge's ruling, Saiki said.
Meanwhile, the legislative committee continued its investigation yesterday.
The committee has focused on a contract with Hilo-based company Na Laukoa, which was granted even after a DOE official questioned the company's ability to do the work. LeMahieu has admitted that he had an affair with the owner of Na Laukoa, but only after the contract had been awarded. The committee also has been scrutinizing a contract with Columbus Educational Corp., which was hired to lure Mainland teachers to Hawai'i with packages of up $100,000.
The committee yesterday heard testimony that the state paid Columbus to set up Mainland recruiting offices — and that all the furniture and equipment will remain with Columbus after the contract expires.
BOE chairman Herb Watanabe and former chairman Mitsugi Nakashima said the board had concerns about the contracts, but Watanabe said their "hands were tied." They provided the committee with letters from the attorney general's office that Watanabe said advised the board "in a nice way" to "butt out."
Both contracts were granted using the powers given to the superintendent by Ezra, which allowed him to cut through procurement laws and bypass the Board of Education.
