Search

OUR ADVOCACY

CASES

Enforcing the Public's Right to Transparency

The following case summaries and select court filings provide a resource for those seeking to enforce public rights of access.

State v. Wellman

Maui News submitted a memorandum supporting the unsealing of court-ordered mental competency reports filed in State v. Ashley Wellman, Cr. No. 2CPC-17-909. In October 2016,[...]

Roy v. GEICO (Confidential Flag)

Edward Wagner found a 2013 Courthouse News Service article describing a Hawaii court case involving allegations of unlawful conduct by GEICO. But when he attempted[...]

SHOPO v. City & County of Honolulu

On February 22, 2018, Civil Beat requested the arbitration decision concerning Darren Cachola. In September 2014, video surfaced that showed Cachola repeatedly beating a woman.[...]

Grube v. Trader

Nick Grube, a reporter at Honolulu Civil Beat, challenged an order entered in State. v. Ahn, Cr. No. 15-1-1338, that sealed all records and docket[...]

SHOPO v. City & County of Honolulu

On July 31, 2017, Civil Beat requested the name, position, and compensation for Honolulu Police Department employees. The City & County of Honolulu planned to[...]

Honolulu Civil Beat v. Honolulu Civil Service Commission

Honolulu Civil Beat challenged the Honolulu Civil Service Commission’s closure of contested case proceedings to the public without following the procedural and substantive First Amendment[...]

In re Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest

The Law Center objected to the closure of the courtroom for a pretrial release hearing in United States v. Uskanli, 17-MJ-563 BMK. After the Government[...]

Honolulu Civil Beat v. Honolulu Police Commission

Honolulu Civil Beat and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser challenged the Honolulu Police Commission's policy to close contested case proceedings to the public without following the procedural[...]

State v. Gutierrez

On March 16, 2017, Christian Gutierrez pleaded no contest to five criminal counts related to an incident at the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve that[...]

Kealoha v. City & County of Honolulu

On April 14, 2017, Civil Beat made a request to the City Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for basic employment information about Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Katherine Kealoha[...]