The United Public Workers union, which represents guards at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility, is seeking to force the former legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Hawai'i to answer questions about alleged abuses at the facility.

Attorney Herbert Takahashi’s written motion to the state Labor Relations Board filed Friday seeks to have Brent White reappear before the board at his own expense. White is in Thailand, where he is serving as a visiting scholar.

"We’re asking the board to petition the court to enforce an order on him to answer questions he refused to answer," Takahashi said. The union wants to know what White observed and who he talked to in the two days he spent at the facility in June and July that led to a report alleging abuses at the facility.

Takahashi said the union also is seeking information from meetings between White and Gov. Linda Lingle on Sept. 5 and White and state Attorney General Mark Bennett.

White’s attorney, Jeff Harris, said the motion will not change the ACLU position, which has been to decline to provide testimony that could reveal the identities of its sources.

Man charged in Kalihi melee

A 23-year-old Kalihi man was charged yesterday with two counts of attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of two men during a brawl Saturday night on Kalihi Street near Akahi Street. Philip C. Wallace is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.

The stabbing victims, ages 19 and 18, were stabbed in the neck and chest, respectively. The older man is in critical condition and the 18-year-old is listed in fair condition.