Ruling on Kamehameha admissions set for appeal

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

Lawyers for a non-Hawaiian student from the Big Island who is seeking to enroll in Kamehameha Schools say they will appeal a Nov. 17 ruling by a federal judge that upheld the school's practice of giving admissions preference to students of Hawaiian ancestry.

The boy contends that he meets all other admissions criteria but was refused admission to Kamehameha because he has no Hawaiian blood.

Eric Grant and John Goemans, who represent the unidentified applicant known only as "John Doe," claim Kamehameha's "Hawaiian preference" admissions policy violates a federal law prohibiting racial discrimination.

U.S. District Judge Alan Kay, however, ruled that race-based programs that give one group priority over another are within the law in certain very narrow situations when those programs serve a legitimate purpose.

In the case of Kamehameha Schools, Kay found that the admissions policy seeks to remedy the historical injustices suffered by Hawaiians over the more than 100 years since the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown.

The boy's lawsuit was one of two filed last year by Grant and Goemans challenging the Kamehameha admissions policy. They also filed a lawsuit on behalf of 12-year-old Brayden Mohica-Cummings of Kaua'i, whose lawsuit was settled in late November after Kamehameha agreed to let Mohica-Cummings attend until he graduates from high school.

The attorneys estimate that the appeal of Kay's ruling to the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals in San Francisco could take 18 to 24 months and said that the case ultimately will be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8030.