Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court will update the public about the newly formed environmental court on Friday, November 6, during a talk at the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law. The free program is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. in Classroom 2 at the law school.
Wilson, who was instrumental in the development of the court, is a former director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. In a day-long symposium at the law school just before the Environmental Court was launched July 1, Wilson spoke of its importance.
“Without an environmental court there’s inconsistent application of Hawaiʻi’s environmental laws,” Justice Wilson said. “Part of the purpose is to collect information related to environmental cases. It will be brought together as a repository of environmental law.”
Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald appointed a number of sitting judges to preside over cases in the new court.
Wilson is expected to talk about how the court has operated in its first four months, including the types of cases that have come before it.
Wilson’s talk is sponsored by the Environmental Law Program at the UH law school.
—By Beverly Creamer
