In 1994, University of Hawaii journalism students went to court to gain access to police disciplinary files. Honolulu attorney Jeff Portnoy represented them for free.
The courts sided with the young journalists but the police got the Legislature to grant them an exemption that’s still in place today.
Portnoy vividly remember the day in 1994 he had to push his way past a hundred cops to get into Judge Lim’s courtroom.
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About the Author
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Nick Grube is a reporter for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at nick@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at . You can also reach him by phone at 808-377-0246.