Sai v. Trump
Sai v. Trump
Opinion of the Court
Before the court is David Keanu Sai's pro se Petition against Donald J. Trump, *71President of the United States of America; Philip S. Davidson, Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command of the United States Navy; and David Ige, Governor of the State of Hawaii. Sai describes himself as the "Chairman of the acting Council of Regency" representing the Hawaiian Kingdom as a sovereign and body politic." Petition ¶ 16. He alleges that the United States committed War Crimes,
Sai also names roughly thirty-four heads of state, leaders of the United Nations, and the Chairperson of the Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration as "Nominal Respondents... not 'because any specific relief is demanded as against [them], but because [their] connection with the subject-matter is such that the [Petitioner's] actions would be defective ... if [they] were not joined.' " Petition ¶ 14 (internal quotations and alterations in the original). Sai appears to contend that these foreign officials, entities and bodies failed to remain neutral with respect to U.S. and Hawaii relations, thereby becoming parties to the "war" between the United States and Hawaii and, consequently, violating both the Hague and Geneva Conventions. See
For the reasons set forth below, the court will dismiss Sai's Petition sua sponte .
I. ANALYSIS
A. The All Writs Act
The All Writs Act, in relevant part, states that "all courts established by Act of Congress may issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law."
B.
Sai seeks relief against Defendants pursuant to
Moreover, at least one other court has held that Section 2441 does not create a private cause of action, Jawad v. Gates ,
C. Hague Convention and Geneva Convention
"[T]he Geneva Convention does not [generally] create a right of action for private individuals to enforce its terms." Nattah v. Bush ,
Likewise, the Hague Convention does not afford relief for private individuals. Nattah ,
D. Political Question Doctrine
The political question doctrine "excludes from judicial review those controversies which revolve around policy choices and value determinations constitutionally committed for resolution to the halls of Congress or the confines of the Executive Branch." Japan Whaling Ass'n v. Am. Cetacean Soc'y ,
Relying on this principle, another judge on this court dismissed a similar lawsuit Sai filed against then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and other US officials. Sai v. Clinton ,
Sai attempts to preemptively address the political question obstacle by asserting in his Petition that numerous courts, including the court in Sai I , mistakenly deferred to Congress rather than the Executive in determining that issues of sovereignty prevent district court review. Id. ¶¶ 237-239. He argues that the Executive branch recognized Hawaii's sovereignty in 1893 when President Cleveland delivered a message to Congress denouncing the role of American forces in the Hawaiian Islands and calling for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy. Id. ¶ 237; see Sai I ,
This argument fails for several reasons. First, the dismissal in Sai I was not based solely on deferral to the legislative branch. Instead, the court repeatedly explained that determinations of sovereignty are not judicial functions, but instead rest with the executive and the legislative branches of government. Sai I ,
Second, Sai's argument fails to acknowledge the realities of U.S. history. After President Cleveland's denouncement, U.S. officials later condoned the actions of the U.S. forces in the islands, the Hawaiian monarchy was dethroned, and President McKinley signed a Joint Resolution to annex the Hawaiian Islands as a territory of the United States in 1898. Sai I ,
Third, Sai unsuccessfully raised a similar argument in his Sai I appellate brief. See Sai v. Obama , 11-5142, 8/8/2011, Pls. Resp. pp. 8-9 ("[T]he political question doctrine cannot be invoked whereby the Executive already afforded recognition of a foreign state and its government ... Once the executive afforded recognition of Hawaii's sovereignty, the recognizing state, which includes this Court, the Congress and all successor Executives, is estopped from contesting its validity at any future time."). He cannot relitigate this issue here.
Finally, Sai argues that Sai I was incorrectly decided because Congress does not have the authority to "annex territory of a foreign state... by domestic legislation alone." Petition ¶ 241. Sai raised this same argument in his appellate brief, to no avail. See Sai v. Obama , 11-5142, 8/8/2011, Pls. Resp. p. 11 ("Therefore, the District Court was able to 'determine that the annexation of Hawaii by the United States was unlawful and void,' because not only is Congressional legislation limited and confined to territory of the United States, it is in direct violation of ... a [Hawaiian] treaty, that mandates the U.S. Executive to administer and execute Hawaiian Kingdom law until the Hawaiian government is restored ..."). This is not the appropriate forum in which to challenge the Court of Appeals' decision against him, and this court therefore lacks jurisdiction to hear Sai's claims.
E. APA
Sai's attempt to proceed under the APA also fails. The APA does not provide relief against the Executive or governments of the territories or possessions of the United States. See 5 *74Franklin v. Massachusetts ,
II. CONCLUSION
Because Sai's claims involve a political question, this court is without jurisdiction to review his claims and the court will therefore DISMISS the Petition.
Because the court is dispensing with Sai's claims on other grounds, the court need not address whether there is legal authority to bring claims against the international leaders.
"The APA defines an "agency" as "each authority of the Government of the United States, whether or not it is within or subject to review by another agency, but does not include--
(A) the Congress;
(B) the courts of the United States;
(C) the governments of the territories or possessions of the United States;
(D) the government of the District of Columbia;
(E) agencies composed of representatives of the parties or of representatives of organizations of the parties to the disputes determined by them;
(F) courts martial and military commissions;
(G) military authority exercised in the field in time of war or in occupied territory; ....
Reference
- Full Case Name
- David Keanu SAI, Ph.D., pro se v. Donald J. TRUMP
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published