## Facts

- In 1898, the Republic of Hawai‘i transferred sovereignty and public lands to the United States under the Newlands Resolution; the transferred “ceded lands” became federal property.
- In 1959, the Hawai‘i Admission Act granted the State title to the public lands held by the United States in the Territory, with § 5(f) requiring the lands and proceeds to be held in a public trust for enumerated purposes, including the betterment of conditions of Native Hawaiians.
- In 1993, Congress enacted the Apology Resolution, apologizing for the United States’ role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, while stating that nothing in the resolution was intended to settle any claims against the United States.
- A Maui tract of former crown land (the Leiali‘i parcel) was part of the § 5(f) trust lands managed by the State.
- A state housing entity obtained approval to remove the parcel from the trust and redevelop it, with compensation to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), a state agency that manages certain revenues from ceded lands for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.
- OHA demanded that any compensation include a disclaimer preserving potential Native Hawaiian claims to lands removed from the trust; the housing entity refused.
- OHA and individual beneficiaries sued in state court to enjoin the transfer of the Leiali‘i parcel and other ceded lands until a final determination of Native Hawaiian claims.

## Issues

1. Whether the U.S. Supreme Court had jurisdiction when the state-court decision appeared to rest on, or be interwoven with, federal law rather than an independent and adequate state-law ground.
2. Whether the 1993 Apology Resolution limited or removed Hawai‘i’s authority to alienate ceded lands conveyed to the State by the Admission Act, such that an injunction against transfers was required.

## Decision

- The Court held it had jurisdiction because the state court’s reasoning treated federal law, particularly the Apology Resolution, as controlling and did not clearly rest on an independent state-law ground.
- The Court reversed the Hawai‘i Supreme Court’s injunction and remanded.
- The Court held that the Apology Resolution did not strip Hawai‘i of authority to sell or transfer ceded lands conveyed under the Admission Act.
- The Court characterized the Apology Resolution as a symbolic statement lacking operative provisions that change title, create enforceable duties, or impose land-alienation restrictions on the State.
- The Court construed § 5(f) of the Admission Act as imposing trust purposes on the use of lands and proceeds, but not as a categorical bar on sales or transfers.
- The Court limited its holding to the effect of the Apology Resolution and did not decide the merits or scope of any Native Hawaiian land claims arising from other sources of law.

## Legal Principles

- A state-court judgment is reviewable when it fairly appears to rest primarily on federal law, or to be interwoven with federal law, and the state court does not clearly state an independent and adequate state ground (Michigan v. Long framework).
- A congressional resolution that is commemorative or apologetic and contains no operative legal language, especially where it disclaims settlement of claims, does not by itself alter property title or impose substantive restrictions on state control of land.
- Congressional conveyance of land to a State in fee, subject to specified trust purposes, is not implicitly amended by later symbolic legislation absent clear statutory language creating new restrictions.
- Courts should not treat nonoperative congressional statements as creating a “cloud” on title or as displacing state authority without an unmistakable congressional directive.

## Conclusion

The Court held that appellate jurisdiction existed because the state injunction depended on federal law, and it rejected the view that the Apology Resolution curtailed Hawai‘i’s authority to transfer ceded lands granted under the Admission Act; the injunction was reversed and the case remanded.


Hawai‘i v. Off. of Haw. Affs., 556 U.S. 163 (2009)