Kema v. Gaddis

• Decision Date: 26 July 1999
• Docket Number: No. 21733.,21733.
• Parties: Peter KEMA, Sr., Petitioner, v. The Honorable Ben H. GADDIS, Judge of the Family Court of the Third Circuit, and Gannett Pacific Corporation, dba Honolulu Advertiser, Department of Human Services (DHS), State of Hawai`i, Jaylin Kema, William Collier, John Doe (dob: 1/09/87), Jane Doe (dob: 4/04/89), John Doe (dob: 5/01/91), Jane Doe (dob: 3/10/93), Respondents.
• Court: Hawaii Supreme Court

982 P.2d 334

91 Haw. 200

Peter KEMA, Sr., Petitioner, v. The Honorable Ben H. GADDIS, Judge of the Family Court of the Third Circuit, and Gannett Pacific Corporation, dba Honolulu Advertiser, Department of Human Services (DHS), State of Hawai`i, Jaylin Kema, William Collier, John Doe (dob: 1/09/87), Jane Doe (dob: 4/04/89), John Doe (dob: 5/01/91), Jane Doe (dob: 3/10/93), Respondents.

No. 21733.

Supreme Court of Hawai`i.

July 26, 1999.

J.S. Yoshimoto (of Amano, Pinao & Kobayashi) Honolulu, for the petitioner Peter Kema, Sr.

Craig M. Sadamoto, Hilo, for Jaylin Kema, joins in the petition.

Jeffrey S. Portnoy, Peter W. Olson, and Patrick W. Hanifin, Honolulu, (of Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright) for the respondent Gannett Pacific corporation dba the Honolulu Advertiser.

Bryan C. Yee, Deputy Attorney General, for the respondent Department of Human Services (DHS), State of Hawai`i.

Howard H. Shiroma (of Crudele, De Lima & Shiroma) Hilo, for the respondent William Collier.

Edith Kawai, Kamuela, Guardian Ad Litem for John Doe (dob: 1/9/87), Jane Doe (dob: 4/4/89), John Doe (dob: 5/1/91), and Jane Doe (dob: 3/10/93).

MOON, C.J., KLEIN, LEVINSON, NAKAYAMA, and RAMIL, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

In this original proceeding, the petitioner Peter Kema, Sr. (petitioner) petitions this court for a writ of prohibition or mandamus directing Ben H. Gaddis, district family court judge of the third circuit, to: (1) withhold release of records requested by the respondent Gannett Pacific Corporation, dba Honolulu Advertiser (Advertiser), a general circulation newspaper, pertaining to the family court files of a minor, Peter Kema, Jr.; and (2) vacate a June 17, 1998 decision and order regarding the Advertiser's request for access to confidential family court records. The respondents Department of Human Services (DHS), Jaylin Kema (the mother of Peter Kema, Jr.), the biological father of the half siblings of Peter Kema, Jr., and the guardian ad litem (GAL) for the children responded in support of the petition.

Judge Gaddis granted the Advertiser and other media organizations access to a redacted copy of the closed family court file of Peter Kema, Jr. In his decision and order, Judge Gaddis concluded that additional publicity would not be in the best interest of Peter Kema, Jr.'s siblings and was potentially harmful to them. Judge Gaddis denied release of the siblings' ongoing and closed family court files, but ordered release of the redacted version of Peter Kema, Jr.'s file. Review of the redacted file, however, reflects that the closed Peter Kema, Jr. case was combined with the siblings' case and that the cases are so intertwined that release of the redacted Peter Kema, Jr. file would result in the release of reports and documents from the closed case of the other children, which Judge Gaddis concluded should not be released. Therefore, the petition for writ of prohibition and/or mandamus is granted.¹

I. BACKGROUND

This original proceeding involves the confidential family court files of Peter Kema, Jr. (also known as Peter Boy), a seven-year-old minor who was reported missing in 1998, as well as two of his minor siblings. All of the children were subject to the jurisdiction of the family court of the third circuit. The family court cases were closed in 1995.

After Peter Boy was reported missing in 1998, the family court opened two new files related to the children. On April 16, 1998, Mike Gordon, a reporter for the Advertiser, wrote to the family court seeking information about the disappearance of Peter Boy. The DHS, the GAL, and Peter Boy's parents objected to Gordon's request. Judge Gaddis overruled the objections and allowed the release of limited information, pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 587-81 (1993).² The order for release of information regarding Peter Kema, Jr. was filed on April 17, 1998. The family court entered the following relevant findings of fact (FOFs):

The release of limited information about the past history of this child and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance will not substantially impede any current investigations by law enforcement authorities.

The release of limited information about the past history of this child and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance may encourage members of the public to come forward with helpful information about the disappearance and present whereabouts of the child.

The release of limited information about the past history of this child and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance is in the best interests of the child. Concerns as to the present whereabouts and well-being of this child outweigh concerns as to confidentiality raised on behalf of other family members.

The release of limited information about the past history of this child and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance serve a legitimate purpose in that such a release may materially assist authorities in locating this child.

The release of information concerning this child and family should be limited because court proceedings continue and the rights of other family members to confidentiality should be preserved.

Based upon the foregoing FOFs and pursuant to HRS § 587-81, the family court directed DHS to prepare a synopsis of the allegations contained in the safe home guidelines submitted in the DHS case concerning Peter Boy, including a description of the following: (1) the injuries suffered by Peter Boy when he first came to the attention of DHS; (2) the circumstances and allegations that caused Peter Boy once again to come to the attention of DHS; (3) all known accounts provided to the DHS and law enforcement authorities regarding the disappearance of Peter Boy, including (a) the location of the child when last seen, (b) the names of persons the child was alleged to have been with, (c) the date the child was last seen, (d) a photograph of Peter Boy, and (e) any other information or allegations that might help the public locate Peter Boy. The family court denied release of all other court records and made copies of the synopsis available to the Advertiser and all other media representatives upon request.

On May 19, 1998, the Advertiser petitioned the family court for access to all of the confidential records of the child protective matter involving Peter Boy and his siblings. In support of its petition, the Advertiser cited concerns expressed at an informational meeting conducted by the House Human Services Committee of the Hawai`i House of Representatives on September 11, 1997 regarding DHS's handling of cases and its emphasis on family reunification rather than child protection. The Advertiser opined that it was an appropriate "person" for whom access pursuant to HRS § 587-81 would serve a legitimate purpose. Citing HRS § 571-84(b),³ the Advertiser contended that it had a legitimate interest in reviewing the family court records in order to advance and protect the welfare of the child and argued that release of the records to the Advertiser would serve the important public purpose of assisting the community in understanding what had transpired in Peter Boy's case.

On June 17, 1998, Judge Gaddis issued a decision and order regarding the Advertiser's request for access to confidential family court records (hereinafter the decision). The decision, citing HRS § 587-81, noted that the family court must always consider the child's best interest when attempting to balance competing interests and when exercising its discretion. In the decision, Judge Gaddis recited that he had considered the following: (1) the best interests of Peter Boy; (2) the best interests of the other children in the family; (3) the privacy interests of the adults in the family; (4) the privacy interests of others; and (5) the purpose of the release of records.

Judge Gaddis concluded that greater public access to the family court records was unlikely to help or hurt Peter Boy and that the overriding concern for his disappearance and safety necessitated that his privacy interests be sacrificed. With regard to the other children, Judge Gaddis found as follows:

Of far greater concern is the impact that additional media exposure may have on the other children in the family. As previously noted[,] these children have already had their names printed in the paper and have been filmed by television news as they were placed in foster care ....

The court has received little other information about how the other children have actually been affected by the publicity in this case.... There are no allegations that these children were recently harmed or neglected by anyone. They have been removed from their home and placed in foster care. Although the court has been advised that the children appear to be doing well, such foster care placements are almost always a traumatic event for older children....

It seems likely that additional publicity about these children would be potentially harmful and would not be in their best interest.

(Emphasis added.)

Addressing the privacy interests of the adult family members, Judge Gaddis acknowledged that child protective proceedings often involve family problems of an intimate nature and that media exposure of family problems can have significant and long-lasting effects on the reputation of a family and can create enduring rifts, particularly in a small community. Judge Gaddis concluded that the concerns and positions of the adult family members in the case weighed against the release of additional family court records. Assessing the privacy interests of others, Judge Gaddis noted that neither the family court nor the DHS possessed any direct privacy interest under HRS chapter 587 but that confidentiality served an important public purpose both for DHS and the family court. In particular, he found as follows:

Often when DHS is involved with families in abuse and neglect cases, the families are in the midst of conflict, denial, pain and suffering. It is extremely

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