A federal lawsuit against Kamehameha Schools' Native Hawaiian admissions preference has drawn a challenge to the court's own authority, raising the stakes for Native Hawaiian institutions.

• Students for Fair Admissions, the group that won the 2023 Supreme Court ruling killing affirmative action, sued Kamehameha Schools in 2025 over its preference for students of Native Hawaiian ancestry.
• Under American law the preference is now hard to defend, but a Hawaiian Kingdom court ruling from 1863 allows preference for Native Hawaiians — so which law applies decides the case.
• The Council of Regency filed a brief arguing the federal court sits inside the Hawaiian Kingdom without consent and cannot impose American law there, signed by 68 scholars from 11 countries.
• The brief says the court must convert itself into an occupation court applying Hawaiian Kingdom law or risk committing war crimes, including denying Kamehameha Schools a fair trial.
• The judge rejected the brief within days as a political question, but after a motion to reconsider the court signaled it will reverse and accept it.

Outlook: The brief looks set to be admitted, putting the question of which legal system governs Hawaii at the center of the case.