[lg policy] Maui man behind Hawaiian language debate fails to appear iin court

[Harold Schiffman]

   - State judiciary to provide Hawaiian language interpreters after Maui
   controversy
   <http://khon2.com/2018/01/26/state-judiciary-to-provide-hawaiian-language-interpreters-after-maui-controversy/>
   - Recalled warrant sparks debate over use of Hawaiian language in court
   <http://khon2.com/2018/01/25/recalled-warrant-sparks-debate-over-use-of-hawaiian-language-in-court/>
   - Warrant recalled, judiciary reviewing policies after man responds in
   Hawaiian instead of English
   <http://khon2.com/2018/01/24/judge-issues-warrant-after-man-responds-in-hawaiian-instead-of-english/>

A man who refused to speak English in court was due back in court Wednesday.

But Samuel Kaeo didn’t show up.

According to Judge Kelsey Kawano, several notices were sent to Kaeo
regarding his court date, but it appears he never received them.

“According to the records and files, the defendant has not received notice
of his requirement to be in court,” Kawano said. “The court will instruct
the prosecuting attorney’s office to issue a penal summons, have that
served upon the defendant, and we’ll set this for three weeks to have that
service done.”

Kaeo appeared in court last month to face charges from a protest. He was
arrested in connection with a protest last year on Haleakala and was
supposed to have a bench trial.

Although he can speak both English and Hawaiian, he requested a Hawaiian
language interpreter and refused to address the judge in English.

“I’m going to give you another opportunity, Mr. Kaeo, to just identify
yourself just so the record is clear. I’m going to ask you one last time,
is your name Samuel Kaeo?” Judge Blaine Kobayashi asked on Jan. 24.

Kaeo’s Hawaiian responses led Kobayashi to issue a bench warrant for his
arrest. Kobayashi’s reasoning: “The court is unable to get a definitive
determination for the record that the defendant seated in court is Mr.
Samuel Kaeo.”

The warrant was recalled the following day, but sparked much debate over
the acceptance and use of the Hawaiian language in court, and whether it
should have been handled differently.

“We have to put this in context. As a Hawaii person representing myself on
a criminal issue due to fighting on behalf of the rights of Hawaiian people
and using Hawaiian language is the best way to express that this is a
Hawaiian issue and that being taken away for me,” Kaeo previously explained
to KHON2. “I will continue to demand through my words that I’ll be
recognized as a human being, that we as Hawaiians have a right for the
human right to speak our language.”

That Friday, Jan. 26, the Hawaii State Judiciary announced a new Hawaiian
language interpreter policy that said, “The Judiciary will provide or
permit qualified Hawaiian language interpreters to the extent reasonably
possible when parties in courtroom proceedings choose to express themselves
through the Hawaiian language.”

An interpreter was present in court Wednesday, and will be at Kaeo’s next
court date as well.


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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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