Noa Kanealii Io Pono I Kelii Ua Mau v. Tyler C. Saito, et al.

Whether, in determining if Petitioner is an “alien” under 28 U.S.C. § 1350, the court may replace his asserted kanaka-maoli Hawaiian nationality with the different proposition that he must prove “citizenship in a foreign sovereign nation,” treat that reformulated proposition as foreclosed by United States v. Lorenzo, 995 F.2d 1448 (9th Cir. 1993), and declare him an American citizen without first applying the statutory definitions in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3) and (22), the Hawaii-specific citizenship rule in 8 U.S.C. § 1405, and under international law and legal sources on which his asserted national identity and alienage rests.

Whether a court may treat from the Lorenzo’s statement about federal criminal jurisdiction as categorically disposing of the Petitioner’s national identity, and alienage, and treaty arguments without construing the 1849 Hawaiian Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, recognizing the Hawaiian Islands and the United States as separate “respective states” acting thru plenipotentiaries with full powers; without deciding Petitioner’s reliance that the Treaty remains operative under Article XVI; and without distinguishing the binding relationship through international recognition and treaty capacity powers from the separate questions of foreign and domestic enforceability and a private cause of action.