Video courtesy KITV News

HONOLULU – On September 29, Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. attorney David Frankel and Deputy Attorney General Daniel Morris presented opening statements in the trial involving the state’s oversight of the Pohakuloa Training Area. Plaintiffs Clarence Ku Ching and Mary Maxine Kahaulelio allege in their lawsuit that the Department of Land and Natural Resources failed to monitor and protect the nearly 23,000 acres leased to the military for a 65 year term. They say the U.S. Army Garrison has not upheld its end of the agreement to clean up after live-fire training exercises, and that the state should have been working to ensure that they did.

The trial lasted the week and involved testimony from eight witnesses. Oahu Circuit Court Judge Gary Chang will make a ruling after an October 16th deadline for both attorneys to submit findings of fact and conclusions.