Will This Longtime Advocate for Public’s Right To Know Be Muzzled?
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has appointed well-known media attorney Jeffrey Portnoy to the University of Hawaii‘s Board of Regents. But that likely means Portnoy will no longer be able to take on cases involving the university or its governing board, both of which have come under fire over the last year or so for their tendency to skirt transparency on matters of public interest.
Portnoy, an outspoken advocate for government transparency, says that situation is one of many he took into deep consideration before deciding to apply in September for the seat, which had been vacant since former Honolulu Regent Eric Martinson . Martinson, whose term was set to expire next year, chaired the board during the Stevie Wonder Blunder, the fiasco that triggered a spate of efforts at the Legislature to enhance UH transparency.
But Portnoy told Civil Beat that, after weighing his options, he decided he could do more good for the university as a regent than as a litigator.
The 15-member Board of Regents has been criticized by the media in recent months for holding closed-door meetings on issues of public importance, including the university’s presidency and the , whose in light of concerns over how quickly the university was going forward with the proposal. Some critics even questioned whether regents were violating the state’s open-meetings requirement, or Sunshine Law.
Meanwhile, Portnoy is known for his involvement in lawsuits fighting practices of that very nature.
In the mid-1990s, Portnoy represented the UH chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists pro bono in the journalism students’ case against the Honolulu Police Department. The student journalists went to to court to force the department to release the names of police officers who had been suspended or discharged for misconduct. The Society of Professional Journalists honored Portnoy with a First Amendment Award in 1995 for his work on that case.
More recently, Portnoy represented a coalition of local media organizations before the Legislature in their efforts — unsuccessful — to keep the state’s original media Shield Law in place. The law protected Hawaii journalists from having to reveal confidential sources or turn over their notes in many cases.
Portnoy currently is representing the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now in a challenge of Circuit Judge Karen Ahn’s decision to exclude the public and press from parts of the Christopher Deedy murder trial. The federal agent is still facing charges stemming from the November 2011 shooting of a local man in a Waikiki McDonald’s.
Portnoy said that he’d “hate to make a blanket supposition” about what kind of legal action he can and can’t take against the university, but that it’s unlikely he could engage in any litigation that’s adverse to the university or Board of Regents.
Still, Portnoy’s been frank in his criticism of UH transparency and told Civil Beat Friday that his philosophies about the university’s public accountability won’t change. He said he’ll bring his “philosophies” about public transparency to the Board of Regents once he gets more familiar with the university and its administrative ins and outs.
“I’m not a wall flower … I intend to present my opinions and try to work toward issues that we can reach consensus on,” he said. He pointed to UH athletics — in which he said he’s particularly interested given his two-term position on the UH Athletic Advisory Board until 2002 — is one issue that he’d like to delve into.
Portnoy said the new position, which is effective immediately, likely won’t preempt him from taking any legal action against a state agency outside of the university.
Portnoy, who’s a partner at Cades Schutte LLP, is assuming the vacant Honolulu seat on an interim basis until the term expires. The state Senate still needs to confirm his appointment. He noted that his appointment also means he has to resign from the Judicial Selection Commission — one of the many trade-offs he made in taking on the regents seat.
Brian Black, executive director of the Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, which also represents media on government transparency issues, said he doesn’t think Portnoy’s inability to take on cases against UH will be a problem.
In fact, he said, there are likely more benefits to having a strong advocate for government transparency and accountability on the board.
