Honolulu Civil Beat Inc. v. Crabtree

Opinion

Electronically Filed

Supreme Court

SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX

25-SEP-2019

02:00 PM

SCPW-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

_________________________________________________________________

HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT INC., Petitioner, vs.

THE HONORABLE JEFFREY P. CRABTREE, Circuit Court Judge of the First Circuit, State of Hawai#i, Respondent Judge,

and

STATE OF HAWAII ORGANIZATION OF POLICE OFFICERS (SHOPO), exclusive representative for Bargaining Unit 12, Police; and CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU, Respondents.

_________________________________________________________________

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING

(CIVIL NO. 18-1-0823-05)

ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS (By: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna, Pollack, and Wilson, JJ.)

Upon consideration of petitioner Honolulu Civil Beat Inc.’s petition for writ of mandamus, filed on September 5, 2019, the documents attached thereto and submitted in support thereof, and the record, it appears that an appeal is pending in CAAP-19- 0000450. Petitioner may seek relief through the appellate process, as appropriate. Petitioner, therefore, is not entitled to the requested writ of mandamus. See Kema v. Gaddis, 91 Hawai#i 200, 204-05, 982 P.2d 334, 338-39 (1999) (a writ of

2

mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that will not issue unless the petitioner demonstrates a clear and indisputable right to relief and a lack of alternative means to redress adequately the alleged wrong or obtain the requested action; a writ of mandamus is not intended to supersede the legal discretionary authority of the trial courts, cure a mere legal error, or serve as a legal remedy in lieu of normal appellate procedures). Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for writ of mandamus is denied.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, September 25, 2019.

/s/ Mark E. Recktenwald

/s/ Paula A. Nakayama

/s/ Sabrina S. McKenna

/s/ Richard W. Pollack

/s/ Michael D. Wilson