Aloha Kākou,

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I am voicing the injustice I experienced in the

Hawaii court system. I am sharing my personal

story because my language and my existence

as a Hawaiian matters and it is vital to my lāhui

at large. I have experienced first hand oppression

and discrimination by Judge Blaine Kobayashi.

For those who do not know him, he is the same

judge that discriminated against Kaleikoa Kaeo for speaking in Hawaiian. In the same week that

Kaleikoa had his hearing I was scheduled to have

a hearing with Judge Blaine Kobayahi for a traffic violation scheduled for that Friday. I had opted to

have a Hawaiian interpreter which was granted,

but later was told that Judge Kobayashi had

decided to rescind my Hawaiian interpreter.

He had determined that because I speak English,

I did not need an interpreter.

 

After the events that transpired on

January 24th, 2018 with Kaleikoa refusing to

speak English and communicating in only

Hawaiian in Hawaii, he was served a bench

warrant while being present in the courtroom.

Shortly after, I was given notice that now the

judge wants to ensure I would have an interpreter

for my court hearing. My interactions with Blaine Kobayashi lacked aloha and human decency.

His tone with me and his plain disregard

for ʻōlelo Hawaii and me as a kanaka was felt,

heard and seen. My interpreter in one instance

had to stand up for me and defend my use of

ʻōlelo Hawaii when Kobayashi tried to bully me

into speaking English. He tried to persuade my

lawyer to tell me to speak English. Of course

I refused which upset him greatly, it was evident

in his eyes. My interpreter bravely defended my

use of my native tongue by stating

"....whether she is proficient in English or not

it is her right to use ʻōlelo Hawaii because ōlelo Hawaii is an official language of Hawaii."

 

This judge dragged my case for about a year and

a half. On one of the days I could not make the 

court date and had to request for a continuance

due to my parent teacher conference obligations.

The prosecutor and my lawyer agreed to have a continuance and filed the appropriate forms, but Kobayashi being the prejudiced judge that he is, decided to put a bench warrant out for my arrest.

He went so far as to send police officers to my

job at an elementary school. He does not belong

in the court system because he is unfit and can

not judge fairly and humanely. He has deep

seeded prejudices against Hawaiians.

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I am bringing this injustice to light to bring

awareness and to seek support to remove

Kobayashi out of his role in the Hawaii Court

System. No Hawaiian should be bullied or

oppressed by him. The interpreters are generally

for the judge and other courtroom staff who do

not speak Hawaiian. Us kanaka deserve better

and we deserve justice. 

 

E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaii. He Hawaiʻi au mau

a mau!!   

 

Me ke aloha ʻāina ʻoiaʻiʻo,

Heitiare Kawehi Kammerer

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