The identities of four unnamed, non-Hawaiian students challenging Kamehameha Schools' admission policy must be made public in 10 days, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

In a 22-page order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren said the public, as in other civil rights cases, has "a strong interest in knowing who is using the courts to vindicate their rights."

"The severity of the threatened harm and the reasonableness of plaintiffs' fears do not weigh in favor of anonymity," Kurren wrote. "At most, plaintiffs are vulnerable children who have a reasonable fear of social ostracization."

Kamehameha Schools spokeswoman Ann Botticelli said the schools appreciated the ruling, saying, "Judge Kurren obviously deliberated carefully on the matter."

David Rosen, one of the attorneys representing the students, declined comment yesterday.

Rosen and California attorney Eric Grant previously argued that the disclosure of the students' identities would expose them to public humiliation and retaliation.

Parents of the students — who are simply known as Jacob, Janet, Karl and Lisa Doe — have said in court papers that they may drop the lawsuit if the children are not allowed to pursue their lawsuit anonymously.

The Does, who are not of Hawaiian ancestry, applied for admission to Kamehameha in the 2008-09 school year, but were rejected.

Kurren's ruling came after a 1 1/2-hour, closed-door hearing on Oct. 21.

By issuing a 10-day stay to his ruling, he allowed the students and their parents to consider whether to continue pursuing the action.

The stay also allows the Does' attorneys to appeal the ruling to U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright, who is assigned to the case.

Founded by the 1884 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Kamehameha Schools is a charitable trust that educates children of native Hawaiian ancestry. The estate is the state's largest private landowner and is one of the nation's wealthiest trusts, with assets of more than $9 billion.

LAWYERS CITE THREATS

In their court filings, Rosen and Grant cited anonymous threats posted on the Internet and hostile remarks attached to the comments sections of local news stories about the admissions controversy.

Grant and Rosen have noted that the threats were serious enough to prompt U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo in 2003 to issue a warning against anyone looking to harm another non-Hawaiian student, Brayden Mohica-Cummings, who was admitted to the school under a settlement agreement.

Kurren, however, ruled that Grant and Rosen didn't provide evidence of "any threat of physical or economic harm" against the Does.

Botticelli, the Kamehameha Schools spokeswoman, added that the trust's leadership "would never take any action that puts a child in danger."

"We would never engage in or condone any racial threats or actions, and we know our community wouldn't either," she said.

Adrian Kamali'i, a 2000 Kamehameha Schools graduate and president of the student-parent group Na Pua a Ke Ali'i Pauahi, said Kurren's ruling "levels the playing field."

Allowing the students and parents to pursue the lawsuit anonymously takes away any accountability and hides from the public "who is doing what and why," added Jan Dill, a 1961 graduate.

"I think it's tremendous that the judge has demanded transparency in a process that affects thousand of native Hawaiian children," Dill said. "People who take actions like this should stand up and take responsibility rather that hide behind confidentiality."

SCHOOL HAILS RULING

Attorneys for the trust — Paul Alston and former Stanford University Law School Dean Kathleen Sullivan — said anonymity has allowed the students' lawyers to portray their clients in a sympathetic light, but gave the trust no means to say whether that portrayal is accurate.

They also noted that in the previous lawsuit challenging the school's admission policy, Grant's co-counsel John Goemans abused his client's anonymity by leaking the details of a confidential settlement.

In that suit, a separate John Doe sought to overturn the trust's Hawaiian-preference admission policy. The policy was upheld by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was headed to U.S. Supreme Court before it was settled.

The trust was able to save its admissions policy but ended up paying the student $7 million.

Beadie Dawson, a native Hawaiian attorney and former lawyer for Na Pua, said that given the stakes involved, she expects the Does to appeal Kurren's decision.

"They are looking for another damages settlement, a free hand-out," she said. "Giving them anonymity encourages others to file what I consider to be frivolous lawsuits."