Challenge to Hawaii Senator Schatz’s Appointment Dismissed

A challenge to Hawaii’s temporary appointment law for vacant U.S. Senate seats fell flat after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the case Jan. 25.

Sen. Brian Schatz’s (D-Haw.) temporary appointment to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye in 2012 was therefore valid, the court said in an unsigned opinion. Schatz won reelection in 2014.

Here, the plaintiffs alleged that Hawaii’s law, which allows for a temporary appointment to the U.S. Senate until the next general election, violated the 17th Amendment.

The 17th Amendment provides for the direct election ...