First Quarter Edition 2000 Home   Newsletters

Spring 2001

Summer 2001

State League Convention
Flawed Process (Jean Aoki)
Money and Politics (Nikki Love)
President's Message (Maile Bay)
Judiciary Study Committee Receives Grant (Jean Aoki)
Campaign Finance Reform Legislation (Laure Dillon)
Education Committee Report (Mary Anne Raywid)
Health Care Laws and Domestic Violence
Local League News - Honolulu
Local League News - Kauai
Local League News - Hawaii
Coalition Against Legalized Gambling (Grace Furukawa)
Programs Recommended by the Board of Directors
Studies Planned by Local Leagues for 2001-2002
Report of the Nominating Committee

Judiciary Study Committee Receives Grant

State League's Judiciary Study Committee has received word that we are one of 13 states selected to divide the grant received by The League of Women Voters Education Fund from the Open Society Institute. The purpose is to assist state and local Leagues to develop and implement citizen education campaigns on the importance of protecting access to a fair and independent judiciary.

We will evaluate the status of the independent judiciary in our state, develop a report on judicial independence, and develop and implement citizen education campaigns. All this will be done under the guidance of our LWVEF Program Manager, Mr. Robert M. Echols, and in partnership with other organizations in our community.

In responding to the Request for Proposals issued by LWVEF, we contacted Chief Justice Moon of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Mr. David Louie, president of the local bar association, Mr. Larry Okinaga of the American Judicature Society, Hawaii Chapter, and Mr. Lawrence Foster, Dean of the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii. All of them pledged their support of this project. Chief Justice Moon wrote a letter of support which we attached to our proposal. Marcia Kitagawa, the Judiciary's Public Affairs Director will be helping us with this project.

This is a very small grant, but the guidance from LWVEF's Program Manager will be invaluable. We have received the assessment tool for the first phase, and as soon as we are able to assemble a steering committee made up of the above organizations, a few other community organizations, and our own Judiciary Study Committee members, we will go into action on the first phase of surveying the status of judicial independence in our state.

The Judiciary Study Committee's goal of educating ourselves and the community on the role of the Judiciary, its structure, its problems, and its various programs, will now be partly achieved through our focusing on the issue of judicial independence and its importance to the administration of justice for all of our citizens.

The project will be led by League co-chairs Jean Aoki and Jacqueline Parnell. We have received expressions of interest from some Leaguers, and the complete list of committee members will be announced in the next Ka Leo Hana. Those of you who are interested, or have any questions, are asked to contact Jean Aoki at 531-7448. We really need more of you involved in this. (Jackie is on a cruise and will not be back until April 24.)

Jean Aoki

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