Is there a lawyer available

[kjlpahoa]

As has been mentioned, we have filed a law suit against the County for improperly adopting the new Building Code and violating the Sunshine Law and Public Information Act. The whole intent of the suit is to try and force the County to reopen the Public Hearings and to listen to, and respond positavely to the public comments. Also they must follow the mandate of the State and adopt, with amendments the Administrative sections of the IBC. Instead, they just brought forward, with some changes their old Administrative sections. After doing some laymans research into the legal process, it appears mistakes were made in the filing of the suit.

We need some advice and consultation and ideally a good lawyer who would be willing to work with us Pro-Bono in order to get the County Administration to clean up the code, properly adopt it and make it user friendly. We need a code that truely serves the people of this Island and maintains our unique life style in a safe environment. We do not need the overly restrictive, punative code that was forced through the Council and imprperly adopted.

Please help us help the people of Puna and the whole island.

[Kapohocat]

You want a lawyer in this county to go up against this county?

[][][][][]

An idea may be finding one in Honolulu.

[Seeb]

Did anything ever become of this?

[kjlpahoa]

Nothing came of our request for help. We had some errors and ommissions in our original suit so we had to go for a dismisal. And at this point, we cannot find professional help to formulate a good complaint. We are waiting for the State OIP to come forth with their findings and rulings before we take further action. We will still be working with certain Council members to get amendments made. But being an election year, Council members have, what they think, as better things to do.

[Carey]

Ted Hong seems to be taking on a lot of cases against the county recently.

[Radiopeg]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kapohocat

You want a lawyer in this county to go up against this county?

[][][][][]

An idea may be finding one in Honolulu.

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I was thinking of this as the start of a TV drama, where they lose all their cases against the county and have all kinds of related problems. Then the next thought was "I wish Justice was really blind."

Peace and long life

[DanielP]

The more the County adopts of the new code, the less friendly you will find it. Be careful what you ask for.

Dan (GC)

[whalesong]

Free legal advice available now for residence

Beginning Monday, July 2, the center will be open Mondays and Fridays from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Located on the first floor of the courthouse, the Self-Help Center will be staffed by volunteer attorneys. It is designed for self-represented litigants involved in civil matters, and the attorneys will provide legal information to those litigants at no charge.

The idea is that volunteer attorneys donate their time during their lunch hour, initially two days a week. They’ll provide general legal information and not legal advice. In other words, they won’t represent individuals but can be available to answer general questions.

They will provide legal information on matters such as divorce and family law, small claims, foreclosure, landlord tenant issues and other civil cases. They will not provide legal information on criminal cases.

The Self-Help Center is a collaborative effort of the state Judiciary, Hawaii State Bar Association, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii and the Hawaii County Bar Association. There is no public funding for this effort.

The state bar association picked up the cost of liability insurance, a computer and printer, and installed an internet connection and phone line. The Judiciary has provided office space for use.

This statewide effort is supported by the Access to Justice Commission, an independent, tax-exempt grantmaking organization founded in 1969, for self-represented litigants who cannot afford a lawyer through the judicial process.

Kauai established a Self-Help Center last year and Maui is in the process of trying to establish one in its circuit.

Initially, people will be served on a walk-in basis only. The Self-Help Center telephone number is 961-0609.
http://bigislandnow.com/2012/06/27/state.../#comments