In the American Bar Association's February 23 edition of its Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, Elon University School of Law Associate Professor Margaret Kantlehner explores the impact of a Congressional Resolution of apology on the authority of the state of Hawaii to sell, exchange, or transfer state land.
In the article, Kantlehner explores whether the Joint Resolution by Congress to Acknowledge the 100th Anniversary of the January 17, 1893, Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii strips the state of Hawaii of its sovereign authority to sell, exchange or transfer 1.2 million acres of state land unless it reaches a political settlement with native Hawaiians about the status of that land.
The article is titled, “Must Hawaii Reach a Political Settlement with Native Hawaiians Before Transferring 1.2 million Acres of Land?”
Kantlehner notes that the implications of the case before the Supreme Court are significant. A ruling in favor of the State, Kantlehner writes, “will confirm that the Congress has the authority to extinguish, with or without just compensation, communal claims to public lands brought on behalf of an entire native group.”
Conversely, a ruling in favor of the respondent means not only that “the title to any ceded lands in Hawaii may be subject to claims of native Hawaiians,” but also “may create ground for lands in other states to be subjected to claims by native populations, despite past congressional action extinguishing those claims.”
Click on the link to the right to preview the complete article.
Kantlehner is also Director of Externships, Preceptors and the Capstone Leadership Experience at Elon University School of Law.