William S. Richardson - Controversies

Controversies

William S. Richardson's tenure as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Hawai'i was marked by landmark decisions that recognized the precedent of the state's unique cultural and legal history; specifically the public's interests in the environment, and the rights of the indigenous Hawai'ian people. Under Richardson, the court held that the public's interest in the natural environment may limit or prohibit commercial development of sensitive areas, particularly coastlines and beaches; that the public has right to access Hawai'i's beaches, and that land created by lava floes belonged to the state, not to nearby property owners. Richardson declared, "The western concept of exclusivity is not universally applicable in Hawai'i." When two sugar plantations each sought the right to a water source, Richardson cited precedent from the court of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, and declared that the water belonged to neither of them, but to the state. The Richardson court recognized previously ignored claims of the indigenous Hawaiian people (Native Hawaiians).