ROWENA AKANA, Petitioner/Appellant-Appellant, vs. HAWAI‘I STATE ETHICS COMMISSION, STATE OF HAWAI‘I, Respondent/Appellee-Appellee.

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The above-captioned case was set for oral argument on the merits at:

Supreme Court Courtroom
Ali‘iōlani Hale, 2nd Floor
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

The oral argument was also livestreamed for public viewing via the Judiciary’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/hawaiicourts and ʻŌlelo Community Television olelo.org/tv-schedule/.

Attorneys for Petitioner/Appellant-Appellant ROWENA AKANA:

     James J. Bickerton, Bridget G. Morgan-Bickerton, Stephen M. Tannenbaum, Jeremy K. OʻSteen, and Geoffrey A. Tracy of Bickerton Law Group, LLLP

Attorneys for Respondent/Appellee-Appellee HAWAI‘I STATE ETHICS COMMISSION, STATE OF HAWAI‘I:

     Kaliko‘onālani D. Fernandes, Solicitor General, and Ewan C. Rayner, Deputy Solicitor General

NOTE:     Order accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 06/10/24.

COURT:    Recktenwald, C.J., McKenna, Eddins, Ginoza, and Devens.

Brief Description:

This case concerns allegations of ethical violations against Rowena Akana, a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) trustee.  In 2018, the Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission (Commission) filed a charge against Akana, alleging several violations of the State Ethics Code.  After a contested case hearing, the Commission determined that she committed several violations of the Fair Treatment law (HRS § 84-13), Gifts law (HRS § 84-11), and Gifts Reporting law (HRS § 84-11.5).  The Commission fined Akana for those violations.  The Circuit Court of the First Circuit affirmed the Commission’s decision.  Akana appealed to the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA), which affirmed. 

Akana raises two issues before this court: (1) whether the Commission had jurisdiction to charge her with violations of the State Ethics Code and (2) whether the ICA erred in its application of the Gifts law and Gifts Reporting law to her acceptance of legal fee payments from a third party for a lawsuit Akana filed against the OHA Board of Trustees.