U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to participate in UH Law School public forum

Doe v. Kamehameha Schools: A ʻDiscrete and Insular Minority‘ in Hawaiʻi 70 years after Carolene Products?

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Posted: Feb 1, 2008

HONOLULU - The William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa presents its biennium Law Review Symposium, February 7, 2008, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., during its Jurist-in-Residence Program featuring a week-long visit by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer. This year marks the 70th anniversary of "Footnote 4" in United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938) regarding the "discrete and insular" minorities, generally, and to Native Hawaiians in particular.

The goal for the symposium is two-fold: it will advance legal scholarship by analyzing how the arguments in Doe fit into a historical, socio-political, and legal context; and, the Law School and the entire legal community can benefit from learning more about the intricate issues in Doe from the unique vantage points of the following distinguished panel participants:

    · Kathleen Sullivan, counsel for the Kamehameha Schools and Professor and former Dean of Stanford Law School, will analyze how the jurisprudence of "discrete and insular minorities" has evolved over the 70 years since Carolene Products;

    · Eric Grant, counsel for Doe and former law clerk to Retired Chief Justice Warren Burger and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, will present his analysis of why 42 U.S.C. section 1981 must bar race-based policies, even for institutions seeking to remedy race-based historical inequities;

    · David Forman, adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi, attorney with the Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission, and former chairman Hawai'i State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, will present his thoughts on how, if at all, Native Hawaiians fit into the "discrete and insular minority" jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court;

    · Honorable David Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi will offer his unique perspective on adjudicating cases involving important Native Hawaiian issues.

The panelists will respond to and discuss questions presented by our moderator, Jon Van Dyke, Professor of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi. Justice Breyer will participate in the first hour of the panel discussion regarding the evolution of the ʻdiscrete and insular minority' jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Seating is limited. For further information and to R.S.V.P. contact Cynthia Quinn, Director of Communications and External Relations, at (808) 956-6545.