HILO, Hawaii – Petitioners hoping to quash the Thirty Meter Telescope’s pursuit of a permit to build on Mauna Kea by casting doubt on the legality of the State of Hawaii suffered a blow Friday, with a short ruling from the hearing officer.

Retired Judge Riki May Amano denied a motion to take judicial notice of the argument that the Hawaiian Kingdom still exists, following the Jan. 17, 1893 overthrow and 1898 Newlands Resolution that annexed Hawaii to the United States.

“The issue of the status of the State of Hawaii will not be an issue in this contested case hearing,” Amano stated

The motion to take judicial notice was filed by contested case participant Maelani Lee.

“Take Judicial Notice,” Lee underlined in her motion, “The Joint Resolution & The Admissions Act have no Hawaiian Islands or metes and bounds to make the Kingdom of Hawai’i part of the United States of American Inc. This is a Congressional Fact!”

“I believe the burden of proof is on the applicant,” Lee said during the pre-hearing conference in Hilo, “to provide proof that Mauna Kea is in the State of Hawaii.”

The attorneys for the University of Hawaii-Hilo and TMT opposed Lee’s motion.

NOTE: This is one part of a multi-part video series documenting the numerous motions ruled on by Judge Amano during the August 5, 2016 pre-hearing conference. The full video collection is here.