Representative legal achivements
Excessive force suit
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated an excessive force lawsuit against the Honolulu Police Department brought by the
estate of a 32-year old, disabled veteran who was shot and killed
by the police at his home after an hourslong standoff.
Civil Rights and Liberties
After winning on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the police claim of qualified immunity, settled a civil rights lawsuit by the mother of a Black ten-year elementary school student who was arrested and unnecessarily handcuffed for making a
drawing at her elementary school.
Disability discrimination
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a disability discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security brought by a disabled analyst who was denied his
reasonable accommodation request to use donated paid leave
and who was relocated to a workplace that did not accommodate
his disability.
Gender discrimination
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a gender discrimination class action to move forward against the Hawaiʻi Department of Education by the female student athletes at James Campbell High School for providing unequal opportunities to girls in sports.
Sexual orientation discrimination
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a sexual discrimination lawsuit against the Secretary of the Army that had been dismissed on jurisdictional grounds for failure to exhaust administrative remedies before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Age discrimination
Settled an age discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the Honolulu Fire Department brought by a forty-five year-old recruit who was terminated from the academy after he complained of age discrimination to his superior and the union.
Descriptions and summaries of prior cases and settlements are intended to provide information about relevant legal experience only and should not be understood as a guarantee or assurance of future success in any matter. Results are dependent on a variety of facts and circumstances unique to the particular matters described, and do not reflect all past cases. Past results are not a guarantee of future results, and the outcome of a particular case or matter cannot be predicted using past results. Every case is unique and different and should be evaluated on its own merits, without comparison to other cases with different facts and circumstances.