Ex-ACLU attorney
refuses to reveal prison sourcesA UPW attorney wants to know
who accused guards of misconduct
The recently resigned legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union in Hawaii refused repeatedly yesterday to give up his sources in an investigation of alleged abuse of inmates at the state's youth prison.
Brent White was subpoenaed to appear before the state Labor Relations Board after the United Public Workers Union, which represents guards at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, filed a complaint against state officials for authorizing the ACLU's investigation and then making the results public.
UPW says the guards have a constitutional right to know their accusers.
While the board agreed on Tuesday that White wouldn't have to disclose the names of youth facility inmates he had interviewed during the investigation, a union attorney pressed for names of other sources.
The ACLU's 34-page report given to Gov. Linda Lingle on Aug. 14 alleged that Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility inmates are kept in severely crowded, unsanitary and brutal conditions. The report cited a rape of a female inmate and said it found evidence of other sexual assault and harassment.
On Aug. 26, Lingle removed Administrator Melvin Ando and corrections specialist Glenn Yoshimoto pending a criminal investigation.
On Sept. 16, guard Lia Olione was indicted on 10 felony counts, accused of raping a girl at the facility. He was apprehended in American Samoa and returned to Hawaii with bail set at $520,000.
Yesterday, the Attorney General's Office announced the indictment of youth facility guard Myles Manlinguis on a charge of intimidating a witness by threatening an inmate "to influence his testimony."
"Intimidation of those witnesses in the custody of the state will not be tolerated," said Attorney General Mark Bennett.
While White answered UPW attorney Herb Takahashi's questions about his contacts with Bennett -- who had authorized White's visit to the Kailua facility to talk with inmates -- he was advised by his attorney, Jeff Harris, not to disclose his sources in the investigation.
Board Chairman Brian Nakamura repeatedly overruled Harris' objections to Takahashi's questions about where White learned about problems in the facility, but Harris advised his client not to discuss it and told the board it would take a Circuit Court ruling to force answers.
Harris argued that any disclosure of contents of White's communications with the inmates or others at the facility or contents of "working papers" related to the investigation would violate attorney-client privilege.
