By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

Most people in Hawai'i would agree that people on islands tend to behave differently than people on the Mainland. But it's not easy to describe the difference. That's why my ears perked up when Jeff Portnoy, the media attorney, told The Advertiser news staff that trying privacy cases in Hawai'i is different than in, say, Los Angeles.

It hadn't occurred to me that the difference between island and Mainland extends to the law.

"The law doesn't change," Portnoy explained later at his office. "But the way people apply facts to the law will change. Take a jury in Hawai'i reviewing facts regarding a privacy dispute. A jury in Los Angeles might review the same facts under the same law and reach a contrary result.

"The difference is in their expectations of privacy — what they believe is nobody's business and what they believe is in the common domain."

Portnoy pointed out that Hawai'i is the only state with a constitution that insures the right of privacy.

"It's reflected in the feeling that it's okay to engage in any kind of conduct so long as it's in the privacy of the home.

An example is a pornography case 20 years ago in which the Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot restrict what someone reads or views in their own home."

The reason privacy is valued more highly on an islands, Portnoy believes, is because people are closer together, know more about one another and are more protective of one another to outsiders. The "outsider" might be a newspaper.

"People are less tolerant of information that is embarrassing, even if it's true, about their politicians and their celebrities. You don't get this reaction on the Mainland because there's a disconnect. There are so many people that the icon is just a name in the papers.

"Here there's almost a sense of ownership. You don't want to hear about their warts or their problems."

Portnoy said he believes these values can't help but be absorbed by people who live here. As a result, Honolulu's talk radio is mild, and columnists might take on issues but don't deal in brutal gossip.

A negative side of this island attitude, he added, is that it can lead to protection of people who don't deserve protection, and ignoring conduct that deserves exposure.

"It's not an easy equation," he said.

"The irony is the coconut wireless. On small islands like Micronesia, rumors spread like wildfire. But as long as it doesn't get in the paper, it's okay. Los Angeles is so big that a rumor won't get beyond six people. Honolulu is somewhere in the middle."

We agreed that the high value placed on privacy in Hawai'i is the reason locals don't pay much attention to celebrities. Portnoy said he attended a Jimmy Buffet concert at Duke Kahanamoku's in the Outrigger and spotted movie star Bruce Willis at a nearby table.

"I saw only one person take his picture," he said.