Arakaki

In this case we are called on, yet again, to hear a challenge to state programs restricting benefits to “native Hawaiians” or “Hawaiians.” See, e.g., Carroll v. Nakatani, 342 F.3d 934 (9th Cir.2003); Arakaki v. Hawaii, 314 F.3d 1091 (9th Cir.2002); Han v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 45 F.3d 333 (9th Cir.1995) (per curiam); Price v. Akaka, 3 F.3d 1220 (9th Cir.1993); Price v. Hawaii, 764 F.2d 623 (9th Cir.1985); Hoohuli v. Ariyoshi, 741 F.2d 1169 (9th Cir.1984); Keaukaha-Panaewa Cmty. Ass’n v. Hawaiian Homes Comm’n, 588 F.2d 1216 (9th Cir.1978); see also Rice v. Cayetano, 528 U.S. 495 , 120 S.Ct. 1044 , 145 L.Ed.2d 1007 (2000).

Plaintiffs in this case are citizens of the State of Hawaii who allege that various state programs preferentially treat persons of Hawaiian ancestry, in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , and the terms of a public land trust. Plaintiffs brought suit against the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (“DHHL”), the Hawaiian Homes Commission (“HHC”), the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (“OHA”), various state officers, and the United States. Plaintiffs claim standing to sue as taxpayers and as beneficiaries of the public land trust. In a…