Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act of 2010

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the late Judge Samuel P. King of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Judge King passed away on December 7, 2010, at the age of 94. His deep love for Hawaii was evident in his rulings and in the way he carried himself throughout his life.

Samuel Pailthorpe King was born on April 13, 1916, in Hankow, China, to Samuel Wilder King and Pauline Nawahineokalai Evans. The elder King would later serve in the United States House of Representatives as a delegate from the Territory of Hawaii (1935-1943) and as Territorial Governor of Hawaii (1953-1957).

Samuel P. King was a graduate of Punahou School in Honolulu. He also attended Yale University, where he received a B.S. in 1937 and Yale Law School, where he graduated with an LL.B. in 1940. During World War II, King joined the United States Navy and served as a Japanese language translator from 1942 to 1946. He continued his service in the Naval Reserve from 1946 to 1967.

King began to practice law in Honolulu in 1946. In 1956, he became a district magistrate for the City and County of Honolulu. Hawaii Governor William F. Quinn appointed King to a judgeship in the First Circuit Court where he served from 1961 to 1970. In 1966, King joined Judge Gerald R. Corbett in founding Hawaii's Family Court system. In 1970, King resigned as a judge and ran as a Republican for Governor of Hawaii. After losing to incumbent Governor John A. Burns, King returned to private law practice.

On May 22, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon nominated King to the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. King was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 28, 1972. He began serving as chief judge in 1974. After 10 years as chief judge, King assumed senior status.

With nearly five decades on the bench, Judge Samuel P. King has left a legal legacy that includes decisions ranging from upholding Hawaii's land reform law to halting construction of the H-3 freeway to protecting the rights of the mentally ill.

Judge King was one of five co-authors of the ``Broken Trust'' essay published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 1997. That essay, written by prominent members of the Native Hawaiian community, was instrumental in bringing change to the leadership and conduct of the Bishop Estate trust that was established to promote the education and wellbeing of Native Hawaiian children. In a 1998 interview, Judge King said, ``I know one thing. Every judge has an obligation: If you see something wrong in the community, you speak out against it.'' With Broken Trust, Judge King did just that.

According to those closest to him, Judge King was particularly proud of his decision protecting the endangered Palila, a 6-inch finch-billed member of the Hawaiian honeycreeper family.

In 1979, Judge King ruled that the State of Hawaii had to protect the bird by eliminating wild goats and sheep from the Palila's only natural habitat on the slopes of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. He ruled that the Palila had standing in the federal court system, and he monitored the bird's welfare for the rest of his life.

Earlier this year, I introduced a bill that would expand the forest habitat of native birds found nowhere else but in the State of Hawaii. The Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act (H.R. 5380) will help preserve Hawaii's unique animals and plants. As the Member of Congress representing one of the most beautiful and ecologically important places in our world, like Judge King, I believe species conservation is a part of my obligation to Hawaii.

I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Judge King's wife of 66 years, Anne Van Patten Grilk King; his son, Samuel, Jr.; his daughters, Louise King Lanzilotti and Charlotte King Stretch; and his six grandchildren.

Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much).