The Hawaiʻi Family Court that placed Isabella Kalua with foster parents now accused of killing her must release records detailing the process that led to one of the state’s most notorious child abuse deaths, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The ruling marks a dramatic break with a 1999 Supreme Court opinion in Kema v. Gaddis that blocked the release of records in another infamous child abuse death involving 6-year-old Peter “Peter Boy” Kema Jr. That case had set the tone for Family Court transparency for more than two decades.
In its Tuesday decision, the Supreme Court wrote that the best interest of the children is not the only factor to consider in making Family Court records public, breaking with its reasoning in the Kema case.
Other “legitimate interests” should also come into play, the court said, such as informing the public about what happened in a case that led to the death of a foster child.
In a larger sense, releasing the records promotes transparency and the public’s faith in the integrity of the judicial process, the court wrote.
