Supreme Court Orders Disclosure of Adoption and Foster Records in Kalua Murder Case

by Andrew Walden

A Hawaii Supreme Court ruling in Public First vs Viola, handed down September 30, 2025, the last day of Justice Recktenwald’s term as Chief Justice, sets new rules allowing Family Courts to order release of redacted DHS records in the Ariel Sellers case.  The court decision sharply reverses stringent secrecy rules flowing from the high court’s 1999 ruling on the Peter Boy case: Kema v Gaddis.

The unanimous Supreme Court Opinion authored by Justice Eddins, allows Family-Court-ordered disclosure “not only when a child has died or nearly died, but also when a child is missing or has been critically injured.”

Here is a key passage (pgs 10-12) outlining the new rules for public disclosure of CWS records:

Because Ariel died after being placed in foster care by DHS, Public First argued that a legitimate purpose supported public disclosure of the CPA (Child Protective Act) records under HRS § 587A-40(a). “The death of any child by parents that DHS recommended deserves the hard light of public scrutiny to assess what went wrong and how to fix it,” Public First explained.

We agree. We identify two legitimate purposes for public disclosure.

First, allowing for disclosure of information from a CPA proceeding when a foster child has died or nearly died aligns with legislative intent and the federal mandates…. A construction of “legitimate purpose” that conforms with Title IV-E and CAPTA (Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act) requires the family court, upon review of a duly filed request for access, to disclose records from a CPA proceeding in these instances – provided that all disclosures are done in a manner that ensures the safety and well-being of the child (if still alive), any living sibling, the parents, and the family…. 

Public access to CPA records may be warranted not only when a child has died or nearly died, but also when a child is missing or has been critically injured. Hawaiʻi Administrative Rule (HAR) § 17-1601-6 (eff. 2004) allows disclosure “pursuant to a legitimate state purpose,” like the federal law does. … Hawaiʻi’s rule identifies a legitimate state purpose for disclosure of DHS records to the public when “[t]he child named in the report is missing, has suffered a near fatality, been critically injured, or has died[.]” HAR § 17-1601-6(16)(D). Thus, public access in these cases ensures compliance with legislative intent and federal requirements.

Second, we recognize a distinct legitimate purpose to inform and educate the public about court proceedings in CPA cases where a foster child is missing, has suffered a near fatality, been critically injured, or has died. In this sense, we agree with Judge Viola. A legitimate purpose for public disclosure of the records existed based on Ariel’s death because it “would contribute to public understanding and awareness of the response of agencies and the family court to problems of child abuse and neglect . . . and, specifically, as to how and why the Kaluas were deemed appropriate resource caregivers and ultimately adoptive parents.” Thus per HRS § 587A-40(a), the court records may be released.

PDF:  FULL TEXT OF COURT OPINION

CB: Family Court Must Release Records In Isabella Kalua Child Abuse Death - Honolulu Civil Beat

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