Honolulu Advertiser: ‘More join ceded lands fight’
Honolulu Advertiser reporter Gordon Pang mentions EJS and JACL in his roundup of amicus briefs filed with the Supreme Court in the case involving lands held in trust for Native Hawaiians.
Because the U.S. has admitted that the 1893 overthrow was illegal, “the ceded lands hold unique cultural, spiritual and political significance for the Native Hawaiian people — they are not fungible or replaceable,” said the brief filed on behalf of the Equal Justice Society and Japanese American Citizens League.
Read the announcement of our brief here.
EJS, Civil Rights Groups File Brief Asking Calif. Supreme Court to Invalidate Prop. 8
The Equal Justice Society joined other civil rights groups today in filing an amicus brief (PDF) with the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because it would mandate discrimination against a minority group and did not follow the process required for fundamental revisions to the California Constitution.
In the amicus brief, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Equal Justice Society, California NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. argue that minority communities cannot be stripped of their fundamental rights by a simple majority vote.
“We would be making a grave mistake to view Proposition 8 as just affecting the LGBT community,” said Eva Paterson, president of the Equal Justice Society. “If the Supreme Court allows Proposition 8 to take effect, it would represent a threat to the rights of people of color and all minorities.”
On Nov. 14, the same groups filed a writ petition with the California Supreme Court to stop the enactment of Proposition 8, but the California Supreme Court on Nov. 20 deferred action on that petition, and invited the petitioners to file an amicus curiae brief.
