Guards to seek order to open records in youth facility probe
By Vicki Viotti and David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writers
The lawyer for guards at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility said yesterday he would seek a court order forcing a former American Civil Liberties Union-Hawai'i official to release information about the ACLU investigation into alleged abusive behavior by guards.
The Hawai'i Labor Relations Board already has ruled that the names of the guards' under-age accusers can be withheld.
However, Herbert Takahashi, the United Public Workers union attorney representing the guards, said he would wait until transcripts of yesterday's board hearing are released in 10 days before seeking the Circuit Court order to gain information about other sources in the investigation.
Vanessa Chong, executive director of the local ACLU office, said yesterday the union's action would not affect the ACLU's refusal not to name any sources "or information that by context would lead to the sources being identified."
The question of how much information former ACLU-Hawai'i legal director Brent White can withhold about the investigation has been an issue in hearings before the board this week. White's findings included reports of rape, brutality and crowded conditions.
The UPW had hoped to get the names of youth facility wards who brought the accusations, with Takahashi arguing that the accused guards have a constitutional right to know who their accusers are.
The labor board backed White's attorney Jeff Harris in keeping their identities confidential, but on Wednesday Harris invoked attorney-client privilege in objecting to any questions about the substance of the investigation. He advised White to answer questions only about his arrangements with state officials to set up the inquiry, and not on the findings themselves.
Harris told the board it would take a court ruling to compel White to answer substantive questions.
Labor board chairman Brian Nakamura has said he and board member Kathleen Racuya-Markrich believe the board's priority should be to protect the "identity and the safety" of the youths interviewed. But on Wednesday he said he was "disappointed" by Harris' insistence on a broader attorney-client privilege.
Reach Vicki Viotti at 525-8053 or at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com. Reach David Waite at 525-8030 or at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.
