Hawaii schools case dismissed
on May 14, 2007 at 10:48 am
UPDATE 3:05 p.m. All of the legal documents in the case, including the filings in the Supreme Court, are available here. A news release on the Kamehameha Schools’ website discusses a settlement that led to the dismissal of the Supreme Court appeal; that release is here. The release said that terms of the settlement “will not be disclosed.” The full text of a statement by the Schools’ trustees about the settlement can be found here. The attorney for “John Doe” did not return telephone calls seeking comment from their side of the case. In the original lawsuit, “Doe” had sought not only money damages and attorneys’ fees, but also court orders to stop the race-based admissions policy of the Schools. But, he has since graduated from high school, so his remaining claim was only for damages and fees. It is unknown whether those figured in the settlement, although that seems likely. The trustees’ statement put some emphasis on the fact that “the Circuit Court ruling stands,” allowing it to continue its admissions policy. But the Schools’ filings in the Supreme Court made it clear that “Doe can no longer seek injunctive or declaratory relief” because he was no longer in high school; thus, the Circuit Court ruling would have been disturbed only if the Supreme Court had agreed to hear the “Doe” appeal and had then overturned the Circuit Court on the basis of a finding that he, as an individual, had been denied his rights under federal law based on his ancestry; that would have made the policy invalid not only as to him but as to other non-native applicants in the future. By making a deal, the Schools avoided that prospect.
A significant test case in the Supreme Court on racial preferences in admissions to private schools has now been dismissed by agreement of the two sides. The Court’s electronic docket shows that the petition in Doe v. Kamehameha Schools (06-1202) was dismissed last Friday under the Court’s Rule 46. That rule provides that a pending case can be dismissed when all parties agree in writing to do so. The dismissal is then ordered by the Court Clerk, without referring it to the Court.
The case was appealed to the Court by “John Doe,” a young Hawaiian, who sued along with his mother (“Jane Doe”) to challenge a race-based admissions policy at the Kamehameha Schools, giving a preference to students who apply if they have a native Hawaiian ancestry. “John Doe” does not. He applied for admission to Kamehameha High School for each of four academic years, through 2005-6 — his senior year. Each time, he was considered to be a competitive applicant, and was put on a waiting liswt, but was never admitted — apparently because of his non-native ancestry. He was seeking damages and attorneys’ fees in the lawsuit.
The appeal raised questions about the continuing impact on private school race preferences of the Supreme Court’s decision in Runyon v . McCrary in 1976; the Court held there that an 1866 civil rights law barred race bias in admissions to private schools.
The Court had considered the Doe appeal four times, including the Conference last Thursday — one day before a stipulation of dismissal was filed by the parties. The stipulation was a one-page document saying that the parties “stipulate and hereby respectfully request that this case be dismissed immediaely, and that all costs incurred in this case be assessed against the party incurring such costs.” Thus, “Doe” and his mother would not recover their costs for this appeal, unless that recovery was a part of any deal to settle the case and end the Supreme Court appeal.
