Faculty

Organized by Professor Tae-Ung Baik, Richardson Law School's Pacific-Asian Legal Studies (PALS) and the Center for Korean Studies (CKS) held a "Joint International Conference: Dialogue on Contemporary Korean Law in Global Context" on January 30. The conference featured distinguished Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) Law School Professors Dong Won Ko and Junhyok Jang. Professors Charles Booth, Sherry Broder, Richard Chen, Mark Levin, Emile Loza de Siles, Carole Petersen, Richard Wallsgrove, and Visiting Scholar Seung-Soo Han served as discussants. Thank you, Professor Tae-Ung Baik for organizing this event!
(Pictured above, top row, left to right: Professors Richard Wallsgrove, Emile Loza de Siles, Richard Chen, Junhyok Jang, Dong Won Ko, Charles Booth, Sherry Broder, Mark Levin, Carole Petersen, and Visiting Scholar Seung-Soo Han. Bottom row, left to right: Pono Arias '23, Prof. Tae-Ung Baik, Amelia McKenzie '23, Cayli Hirata '25, Nicole Lam '23, Gu Ying '23, Wai Kit Jim '23, Tracy Chuc '24, Daniel Koller '23, and Christian Ferrer '24.)

Professor Charles Booth joined the Board of the Hawaii Bankruptcy Bar Association on January 1.


 

Professor Emeritus Ronald Brown recently published an article, "China's BRI on the Polar Silk Road: Evolving Labor Agenda in the Arctic," in the Canada - United States Law Journal (Vol. 46, Issue 1). The piece discusses how China is implementing its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) into the Arctic area, which has yet to fashion its labor law norms and transition from a subsistence to a commercial economy. This involves eight countries (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, Russia, U.S., and Canada) which have borders on the Arctic Ocean and are looking to expand commercial activities due to global warming.

 

Hawai'i Innocence Project (HIP) Co-Director Kenneth Lawson was recently mentioned in the news in stories featuring HIP client Albert “Ian” Schweitzer, who was exonerated for a conviction in the 1991 rape and murder of Dana Ireland. On January 24, Judge Peter K. Kubota vacated Mr. Schweitzer’s conviction based on new DNA testing that excluded Mr. Schweitzer and his co-defendants and identified an unknown male suspect. Newly discovered evidence presented to the court also revealed that although DNA testing at Mr. Schweitzer’s original trial excluded him and his co-defendants, the State used false jailhouse informant testimony to build its case. This led to the wrongful conviction of Mr. Schweitzer, his younger brother Shawn Schweitzer, and Frank Pauline, Jr. (now deceased). Mr. Schweitzer walked free after 25 years of wrongful incarceration.

Along with Mr. Schweitzer, HIP Co-Director Lawson was interviewed in multiple stories for KHON2, "One Wrongful Conviction In Hawaii it too Many,” "Writing his own story after spending 23 years in prison," and for Hawaii News Now, “Albert Ian Schweitzer shares what gave him hope in his fight for innocence in 1991 murder trial,” "A week after his exoneration, Albert Schweitzer describes 'tough' struggles in restarting his life.” HIP co-founder Barry C. Scheck was quoted in the New York Times; the story was covered by the Wimbledon Times as well. 
(Pictured above, from left to right: HIP volunteer attorney Bill Harrison, Exoneree Albert "Ian" Schweitzer, HIP Associate Director Jennifer Brown, HIP Co-Directors Kenneth Lawson and Rick Fried)

Professor Mark Levin was elected the new Chair for the American Association of Law School's (AALS) East Asia Law and Society section for 2024 at the 2023 annual meeting in San Diego held January 6 - 7. Mark also participated in three sessions in San Diego. He presented at a panel, "East Asian Law & Society, co-sponsored by Comparative Law: Asia and the Changing Global Legal Order," and served as a discussant at "Minority Groups: New Voices in Justice and Inequality." Mark organized and moderated the "East Asian Law & Society: Awards Ceremony" where his former professor, John O. Haley, was honored with the Jerome A. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award.
(Pictured above left photo, from left to right: January 6 panel participants Xiaoqian Hu - University of Arizona, Maggie Lewis - Seton Hall, Craig Martin - Washburn, Irene Calboli -Texas A&M, Prof. Mark Levin.)
(Above right photo, seated on far right: Prof. Mark Levin speaking at a panel.)
(Pictured below: Prof. Levin moderates the awards ceremony session with attendees, clockwise, from top left: Margaret Woo - Northeastern, Prof. Levin, Daniel Foote - U. Tokyo, Don Clarke - GW, virtual audience attendees) 

Mark also spoke to a delegation from the National Ainu Museum on January 29 and played a critical and challenging role in interpreting their meeting with Hawaiian cultural leader Aaron Sala.

(Pictured: Prof. Levin - back row, 4th from left, with the National Ainu Museum Delegation)

Together with colleagues and friends from the bench and bar, Dean Camille Nelson attended the State of the Judiciary events last month at the Hawai‘i State Capital.


 

On January 25, Professor Carole Petersen spoke as an invited commentator on a book published in 2022 by Professor Daniel Vukovich, After Autonomy: A Post-Mortem for Hong Kong’s First Handover, 1997–2019. A recording of the event, organized by the University of Hawai'i's Center for Chinese Studies, is available here.

 

Professors D. Kapuaʻala Sproat ‘98 (above left) and Susan K. Serrano ‘98 (middle), Lecturer Ian Falefuafua Tapu ‘20 (right), and alumni Terina Kamailelauliʻi Faʻagau ’21 and MJ Palau-McDonald ’22, published articles in the most recent issue of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review (Vol. 57, No. 2).Articles included "Reframing Environmental Justice at the Margins of U.S. Empire," by Susan K. Serrano, "The Duty to Aloha ‘Āina: Indigenous Values as a Legal Foundation for Hawai‘i’s Public Trust," by D. Kapua‘ala Sproat and MJ Palau-McDonald, and "A New Age Indigenous Instrument: Artificial Intelligence & Its Potential for (De)colonialized Data," by Ian Falefuafua Tapu & Terina Kamailelauli‘i Fa‘agau. The issue is available online here.

Administration

The William S. Richardson School of Law was again ranked among the “Best Law Schools for 2023” by the Princeton Review on January 31. The rankings placed Richardson Law School among the nation’s top 10 law schools in multiple categories: #2 for “Most Diverse Faculty,” #4 for “Most Chosen By Older Students,” and #8 for “Best for State and Local Clerkships.”

Alumni

'Olu Campbell '15 was named president and CEO of Hawaiʻi Land Trust. 'Olu earned an Environmental Law and Native Hawaiian Law Certificate with his JD from Richardson Law School, and also has a bachelor’s degree in biology with a Hawaiian Language Certificate (also from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa).
 

Lance D. Collins '04 (above left) wrote a film, "My Partner," (poster, right) which was screened locally on January 21. Attendees included Richardson Law faculty, administrators, students and alumni; the private screening was held at McKinley High School Auditorium."My Partner" portrays the story of two Lahainaluna High School seniors from feuding friend groups who are forced to work together on a project about kalo. Directed by Native Hawaiian visual storyteller Keli'i Grace, the film features cameos by Judges William Domingo '84, Summer Kupau-Odo '04 and Donovan Odo ’07. Dialog is in Hawaiian, Tagalog, Pidgin and English.

Rhonda Griswold '84, the 2023 President of the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA), was a guest on a ThinkTech Hawaii program, "Law Across the Sea," hosted by Mark Shklov. Rhonda shared her personal and professional insights into the HSBA and the legal profession, how to deal with the stress of law practice, and how to spread kindness in adversarial litigation. The "Law Across the Sea" episode is available online. For more about Rhonda, click here.

Thomas D. Holland ’16, professor at Middle Tennessee State University, published an article, “The Unintended Consequences of Chicken Stealing:  Same-Sex Marriage and the Path to Polygamy” in the Albany Law Review. Professor Emerita MelodyKapilialoha MacKenzie was also cited in the acknowledgments.



 

Isaac Row '22 has joined the employment law practice group of ES&A, Inc. Isaac has been with the firm since 2017, assisting with the firm's operations and accounting prior to earning his J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law. He also holds a B.A. in Humanities from The Ohio State University, an A.S. in Intelligence Studies from the Community College of the Air Force, and an A.A. in Chinese Mandarin from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. His previous experience also includes serving as a cryptologic linguist-analyst at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam; he is an apprentice mediator at the Mediation Center of the Pacific.


 

U.S. Soccer Participant Safety Task Force Chair Meleana ‘Mana’ Shim ’22 was recently interviewed by Hawai’i Public Radio in an episode of “The Conversation” released on February 8. Mana discussed the national safety task force’s steps in providing safety measures in professional women’s soccer.

Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, February 21, 3 - 4:30 p.m., “Japan’s Prisoners of Conscience, Protest and Law During the Iraq War,” Moore Hall 258

Join us for “Japan’s Prisoners of Conscience, Protest and Law During the Iraq War,” a book talk event with author and retired Meiji University Professor Lawrence Repeta. Professor Repeta’s new book takes readers inside the criminal justice system, focusing on a case that raised fundamental questions about government authority to go to war, freedom of political speech, and treatment of criminal suspects.

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• Friday, February 24, 4 - 6 p.m., “A Call for Justice - The 1963 Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church," Mission Memorial Building, S. King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, RSVP here

Former Attorney General William Baxley and former Senator Douglas Jones provide a moving account of their efforts to seek justice in this upcoming event sponsored by the Federal Bar Association and the District Court for the District of Hawai'i. Speakers Bill Baxley and Doug Jones prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan for the domestic terrorism perpetrated in 1963 on the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Their story is a compelling one, from both a legal and historical perspective. Tickets are free and can be obtained through the Eventbrite website. For more info on the compelling civil rights cases, click here.

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• Wednesday, March 1, 12 - 1:00 p.m., "Leveraging Sovereignty: Kauikeaouli’s Global Strategy for the Hawaiian Nation, 1825-1854," virtually and in-person, Law Library Lobby

The William S. Richardson School of Law Library cordially invites you to attend the tenth installment of the Law Library Talk Story Series with Dr. J. Susan Corley, Ph.D on her publication, "Leveraging Sovereignty: Kauikeaouli’s Global Strategy for the Hawaiian Nation, 1825-1854." Dr. Corley will provide an overview of the kingdom’s administrative structure in the 1840s based on the origination, implementation, and effectiveness of key statecraft tactics and King’s struggles to regain ruling control over key governance functions when foreign merchants and traders increasingly dominated Hawai‘i’s economic activity. 
This Law Library Talk Story is co-sponsored by Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law. Light refreshments will be served on a first-come, first-served basis; RSVP here by February 23.

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• Friday, March 3, 1:00 - 3:00 pm, “Women’s Issues in Japan Today," Richardson Law School, Classroom 3

Aichi University students will be holding a mini-symposium, “Women’s Issues in Japan Today," discussing various pertinent topics on modern women’s issues. Topics include: "The Scarcity of Female Managers in the Japanese Workplace," "Anti-Harassment Measures to Protect Women and Girls," and "The Status Quo and Need for Stronger Measures to Promote Equality for Women and Girls in Japanese Society." The event will be held in Classroom 3 at Richardson Law School.

 

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• Wednesday, March 8, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m., “Heirs’ Property and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act: Challenges, Solutions, and Historic Reform," Moot Courtroom

Carlsmith Ball presents the 2023 Distinguished Gifford Lecturer in Real Property, Thomas W. Mitchell. Mitchell is a professor at Boston College Law School, where he holds the Robert F. Drinan, S.J. Endowed Chair and serves as the Director of the Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights. He is a national expert on property issues facing disadvantaged families and communities and has published leading scholarly works addressing these matters.
In 2020, Professor Mitchell was named one of 21 recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of the substantial impact his professional work has had in assisting disadvantaged farmers and property owners, people who are disproportionately but not exclusively African American and other people of color. He is the only lawyer in his MacArthur Fellowship class. Please join us for this Distinguished Gifford Lecture; a light reception is to follow from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.