Two Federal Lawsuits Draw Attention to the Plaintiffs Behind Them
A pair of federal legal challenges in Hawaii are raising questions about the individuals and organizations driving them — and, in one case, prompting the state Republican Party to publicly distance itself from a lawsuit filed in its ideological neighborhood.
The Hawaiian Homelands Case
Eric Ryan, a white Hawaii resident, blogger, and chairman of the Hawaii Republican Assembly, filed suit in federal court challenging the blood-quantum threshold required to qualify for a homestead lease under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. The law sets a minimum 50% Native Hawaiian ancestry requirement for eligibility. Ryan argues the standard is unconstitutional. The Pacific Legal Foundation is representing him in the case.
Ryan occupies an outlier position within Hawaii’s already-minority Republican politics. His organization is widely characterized as occupying the right-wing fringe of the local GOP, and his history in Hawaii civic life has not been without controversy. In 2011, he was involved in public disputes with two prominent Republican women: former Honolulu City Council member Kymberly Pine, who obtained a temporary restraining order against him, and Andria Tupola, a current council member and former gubernatorial candidate, who secured a restraining order after alleging a yearlong campaign of email harassment and cyberbullying.
Ryan has also been banned from commenting on at least one major Hawaii news outlet’s website since 2012.
The Hawaii Republican Party moved quickly to separate itself from Ryan’s lawsuit. In a press release issued Friday, the party stated that characterizing the legal challenge as a Republican Party initiative is “simply false.” Fenton Kaulana Lee, the party’s vice chair of communication, went further, saying Ryan is not even a party member. The party’s statement appears aimed at preventing Ryan’s lawsuit from being conflated with official GOP positions on Native Hawaiian land policy.
The Campaign Finance Challenge
A separate federal lawsuit was filed Friday by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, challenging a newly enacted state campaign finance law. Governor Josh Green signed Senate Bill 2471 — now designated Act 11 — into law, but the measure drew early skepticism from within the state’s own legal apparatus: Hawaii’s attorney general had warned the legislation was likely unconstitutional before it was enacted.
The Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Free Speech is handling the legal challenge on behalf of the Grassroot Institute. The lawsuit centers on the institute’s plan to establish a new 501(c)(4) nonprofit entity called Grassroot Action Center, which the organization says Act 11 would improperly restrict.
Keliʻi Akina, the Grassroot Institute’s president and CEO, framed the challenge in broad terms, saying the law’s reach extends well beyond his organization. “This law doesn’t affect just the Grassroot Institute,” Akina said. “It affects every Hawaii resident who wants to join with others to speak out on issues that impact their community.”
Akina’s position carries a layer of complexity that observers are likely to note: he currently sits on the board of trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a state agency with a direct interest in Native Hawaiian policy — including the kind of land eligibility questions at the center of Ryan’s separate lawsuit.
By the Numbers
50% — the Native Hawaiian blood quantum required under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act for homestead lease eligibility, the threshold Ryan is challenging in federal court.
2 — the number of federal lawsuits filed in Hawaii on Friday targeting state law or state policy.
1 — restraining orders obtained by each of two Republican elected officials against Ryan, dating to 2011.
What’s Next
Both cases will proceed through federal court. The blood-quantum challenge involves settled but contested questions of federal Indian law and equal protection doctrine, areas where courts have historically issued conflicting rulings. The campaign finance challenge may move more quickly given that the attorney general’s pre-enactment warning essentially previewed the constitutional vulnerabilities the Grassroot Institute is now pressing in court.
Hawaii has seen significant legal activity in recent months across multiple policy areas. For context on another high-profile case, see coverage of the Maui wildfire attorney fee dispute, where a federal judge sharply reduced a legal fee request from $1 billion to $222 million.