[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  THE PASSING OF JUDGE SAMUEL PAILTHORPE KING, UNITED STATES DISTRICT 
                    COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 17, 2010

  Ms. HIRONO. 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).

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