"Shield 'em, Dano!"

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Hawaii's year-old shield law [Hawaii Rev. Stat. c. 621] had its first successful test run as Kauai Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe last week ruled that documentary film maker Keoni Kealoaha Alvarez may not be deposed or subpoenaed in a land dispute case in which he is not a party concerning footage he shot about Native Hawaiian burial practices.

Alvarez, who was backed by the ACLU of Hawaii and  Honolulu attorney James J. Bickerton, received the protective order under the Aloha State's shield law, which explicitly covers  non-traditional journalists, such as Alvarez, as well as print and broadcast journalists regarding protecting their unpublished work and confidential sources from disclosure. 

Alvarez, who chronicled burial practices over a four-year period, became ensnared in the case of Joseph Brescia v. Ka'iulani Edens-Huff et al, when Brescia's attorneys subpoened him.  Brescia brought a civil lawsuit against individuals he claims allegedly delayed construction of his home on Naue Point on Kauai after  30 graves were discovered on the property.