UH Law School Debate on Ceded Lands

The Hawaii Supreme Court blocked the sale of 1.2 million acres of land (29 percent of the state's total area) based on a joint resolution that Congress passed in 1993 to apologize for the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This issue is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Was it correct, or did the Hawaii Supreme Court rewrite the terms by which Hawaii became the 50th state?

The Federalist Society is sponsoring a debate, "Did the Hawaii Supreme Court Rewrite the Terms by which Hawaii became the 50th State," a debate on the ceded lands case, Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, No. 07-1372 (cert. granted Oct. 1, 2008) that is scheduled for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court February 25, 2009. The debate features two renowned legal experts. Ilya Shapiro is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. He has written and debated on several Hawaii-focused topics. Carl Christensen holds an appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii. Prior to accepting his current position, Professor Christensen served as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and as Staff Attorney with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation.

The event will take place Thursday, February 12, 2009, 12:45 - 2:00 pm; Classroom 2, U. Hawaii Law School, 2515 Dole Street, Honolulu. The event is open to the public; non students please RSVP not later than February 10, 2009 by email to loren.tilley@gmail.com.

Event Sponsor
Law School, Manoa Campus

More Information
Loren Tilley, 271-1169, loren.tilley@gmail.com, http://www.hawaii.edu/law, Flyer (PDF)

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