Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins is not holding back when it comes to his thoughts on how the United States Supreme Court is handling due process. Eddins unapologetically shared his thoughts when he issued his opinion on Wednesday.
What did Todd Eddins say in his opinion on the U.S. Supreme Court?
According to AlterNet, Eddins said the Hawaiʻi Constitution doesn’t take instruction from “hubristic originalists” who are “driven by agenda and intent on swiping power that belongs to the people.” He continued to critique SCOTUS, saying the system “dismantles democratic safeguards, steamrolls constitutional liberties and tramples human dignity.” Taking a stern stance against the federal government, Eddins said SCOTUS “does not chart the course for the Hawaiʻi Constitution.”
What was the case decided in the Hawaii Supreme Court on Wednesday?
Eddins gave his opinion after the Hawaii Supreme Court made a decision in the case of Daniel Granillo, who was on trial in 1990 for sexual assault. Granillo was sentenced to 40 years after the FBI linked him to the case using hair found in his car. Investigators said the hair belonged to the victim and fibers from the woman’s clothing matched Granillo’s car’s seat cover.
As the Hawaii court now unanimously vacated Granillo’s conviction, Eddins said prosecutors presented false evidence, but “what matters is whether the trial was fair . . . not whether the prosecutor knew it wasn’t.” Eddins said the U.S. Supreme Court has influenced the Hawaii Constitution to apply the federal court’s interpretation of due process.
“What this court has done to constitutional rights, democratic institutions, and the rule of law explains why Hawaiʻi’s Constitution takes no instruction from it,” Eddins wrote. “We follow principles, not agendas. And so it does not anchor Hawaiʻi’s due process rights to the federal floor. Especially one that keeps sinking.”