First Hawaiian SCOTUS Clerk Rises Despite Diving Enrollment

Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently selected Kamaile Turcan to serve as a law clerk next term, marking the first time a person of Hawaiian descent and the first time a graduate of the University of Hawaii will serve as a law clerk to a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Turcan’s selection comes as law school enrollment figures for native Hawaiians and American Indian/Alaskans have taken a nose dive since 2011 when the American Bar Association instituted stricter demands for data collection.

These changes include collecting more granular employment data from schools and more documentation on tribal affiliation from ...