The American Civil Liberties Union said yesterday it is taking the case of an independent filmmaker working on a documentary about Native Hawaiian burial practices who has been subpoenaed by lawyers for a man who wants to build a house on land in Kauai where a burial site was found.

The ACLU and Honolulu lawyer James Bickerton are invoking Hawaii’s “media shield law” in contesting the subpoena on behalf of Keoni Kealoha Alvarez.
Nearly all of Alvarez’s unpublished interviews and raw video footage — obtained during interviews with kupuna, college professors, Kamehameha Schools trustees, Office of Hawaiian Affairs officials, experts from Bishop Museum and other community leaders — have been subpoenaed by lawyers for Joseph A. Brescia.
Brescia, a California developer, discovered 30 graves on his property on Naue Point on Kauai and has been involved in an eight-year legal battle over construction of a home on the site.
He is pursuing a civil suit against individuals he claims have delayed that construction.
In a statement, Alvarez said that because Hawaiian burial practices are considered kapu by some, he promised confidentiality to everyone he interviewed “and that the film and the interviews will not be released publicly until everyone in it has had a chance to review, comment or object.
“Material that doesn’t make it into the final ... film is intended to remain confidential.”
Bickerton said Hawaii’s media shield law restricts lawyers from using subpoenas to compel protected information from journalists.