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During his time as a public defender and in private practice, Eddins was lead trial counsel in 125 jury trials.
'''Jack Law.''' In a 2006 sexual assault trial, Eddins successfully defended Jack Law, the owner of the world-
'''Billy Kenoi.''' Eddins represented then Hawai‘i County Mayor Billy Kenoi in 2016 who was charged with four counts of theft and one count of making a false statement under oath.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2016-11-01 |title=Not guilty: Jury acquits Hawaii Mayor Billy Kenoi on all counts |url=https://www.khon2.com/local-news/not-guilty-jury-acquits-hawaii-mayor-billy-kenoi-on-all-counts/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=KHON2 |language=en-US}}</ref> Supporters in the courtroom cried when the jury found Kenoi not guilty.<ref name=":1" /> Eddins described the accusations as “flimsy” and “an odious attempt to take down a once-in-a-generation, good decent man.”<ref name=":1" />
'''Alison Dadow.''' In a nationally followed case, Eddins represented Alison Dadow (also known as Alexandria Duval), who was accused of killing her twin sister by driving their car off the Hana Highway in Maui.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=
'''Tayshea Aiwohi.''' Eddins won a landmark victory at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court in ''State v. Tayshea Aiwohi''. The State charged Aiwohi with manslaughter because she smoked methamphetamine while pregnant and her son died shortly after birth.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=State v. Aiwohi |url=http://oaoa.hawaii.gov/jud/opinions/sct/2005/26838.htm |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=oaoa.hawaii.gov}}</ref> Eddins defended Aiwohi and argued that a mother could not be prosecuted for conduct that harmed a fetus because a fetus was not a person. Eddins warned that if a mother can be prosecuted for conduct toward a fetus, then a mother could be criminally charged for caffeine or tobacco use while pregnant.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kPivLgZ-lI |title=Todd Eddins wins landmark women's rights case |language=en |access-date=2024-05-09 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref> The court agreed with Eddins, holding that under Hawai‘i law, a person is a “human who has been born and is alive.”<ref name=":3" /> The high-profile case examined the ethical, scientific, and public policy issues that arose from the co-occurrence of pregnancy and drug dependency.
'''[[Waiāhole-Waikāne struggle|Waiahole-Waikane Community Association]]'''. In 1977 the state bought hundreds of acres in Waiahole Valley to prevent the land from being developed into a housing subdivision.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Waiahole residents should get more time {{!}} The Honolulu Advertiser {{!}} Hawaii's Newspaper |url=https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Dec/01/op/op01p.html |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=the.honoluluadvertiser.com}}</ref> The state promised to keep the land in agriculture use.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Residents question evictions {{!}} The Honolulu Advertiser {{!}} Hawaii's Newspaper |url=https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Dec/06/ln/ln15p.html |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=the.honoluluadvertiser.com}}</ref> In 1988, leases were handed out to families who lived and farmed there.<ref name=":4" /> In 2004, Eddins represented the Waiahole-Waikane Community Association as the state threatened to evict residents who failed to meet the terms of the state lease.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Honolulu Star-Bulletin News |url=https://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/11/30/news/index4.html |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=archives.starbulletin.com}}</ref> At the time, Governor Linda
==Judicial career==
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'''Mark Char.''' In 2016, Mark Char was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Bote |first=Joshua |title=Man convicted in road rage attack wore blackface, delivered racist defense in court |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/02/hawaiis-mark-char-wore-blackface-sentencing-road-rage-stabbing/1630795001/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref> The relatively straightforward case turned heads around the country when Char wore blackface to his sentencing in 2019.<ref name=":6" /> Char, who is not black, criticized the “kangaroo court” for treating him like a black man, so he decided to “be a black man.”<ref name=":6" /> Eddins quickly rebuked Char, “If you look in the mirror, Mr. Char, you’re not gonna see a black person. You’re gonna see a menace. You’re a menace to society.”<ref name=":6" /> Eddins sentenced Char to life in prison with the possibility of parole.<ref name=":6" />
'''Isaiah McCoy.''' Isaiah McCoy, a death row exoneree, was charged with second-degree robbery in 2019.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Kawano |first=Lynn |date=2019-10-11 |title=Fiery outbursts get death row exoneree dragged out of Honolulu courtroom |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/10/11/fiery-outbursts-get-death-row-exoneree-isaiah-mccoy-dragged-out-courtroom/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=
===Hawaiʻi Supreme Court===
On September 29, 2020, Governor [[David Ige]] s office announced Eddins was one of three candidates being considered for appointment to the Hawaii Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Governor to consider nominees for state supreme court |date=September 29, 2020 |publisher=Office of the Governor |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |url=https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/office-of-the-governor-governor-to-consider-nominees-for-state-supreme-court/ |access-date=November 13, 2020}}</ref> On October 23, 2020, Governor [[David Ige]] announced Eddins as his appointment to the [[Supreme Court of Hawaii|Hawaii Supreme Court]] to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of [[Richard W. Pollack]].<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Governor Ige appoints First Circuit judge to Hawai'i Supreme Court |date=October 23, 2020 |publisher=Office of the Governor |location=[[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] |url=https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/office-of-the-governor-news-release-governor-ige-appoints-first-circuit-judge-to-hawaii-supreme-court/ |access-date=November 13, 2020}}</ref> On November 19, 2020, he was confirmed in the [[Hawaii Senate]] by a vote of 25–0.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 4, 2020 |title=Submitting for consideration and confirmation as Associate Justice to the Hawaii Supreme Court, Gubernatorial Nominee, TODD W. EDDINS, for a term to expire in ten years. |url=https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indivSS.aspx?billtype=GM&billnumber=1&year=2020b |access-date=November 20, 2020 |website=www.capitol.hawaii.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nakaso |first=Dan |date=November 19, 2020 |title=Todd Eddins unanimously confirmed to Hawaii Supreme Court |url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/11/19/breaking-news/todd-eddins-unanimously-confirmed-to-hawaii-supreme-court/ |access-date=November 20, 2020 |website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |language=en-US}}</ref> He was sworn in on December 11, 2020.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1331743863849984001 |user=hawaiicourts |title=Join us for the swearing-in of Todd W. Eddins as Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11. Watch it live on https://youtube.com/user/hawaiicourts |date=November 25, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Calendar of Events |url=https://calendar.ehawaii.gov/calendar/html/event/2020/12/11/?eventCollectionCode=jud&viewtype=2¤tViewtype=2&event=111271190&viewperiod=1 |access-date=2020-12-15 |website=calendar.ehawaii.gov}}</ref>
'''Notable Opinions'''
'''Personal Jurisdiction.''' In ''Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP v. Kim'', Eddins’ opinion adopted conspiracy jurisdiction into Hawai‘i law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Womble Bond Dickinson (US), LLP v. Kim, 153 Hawaiʻi 307, 537 P.3d 1154 (2023) |url=https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SCPW-23-0000076.pdf}}</ref> opinion held that
'''Gun Rights.''' Eddins authored a unanimous opinion declaring that article I, section 17 of the Hawaiʻi Constitution creates only a collective, militia-based right to bear arms, not an individual one.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=State v. Wilson, 154 Hawaiʻi 8, 543 P.3d 440 (2024) |url=https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SCAP-22-0000561.pdf}}</ref> Article I, section 17 contains the same language as the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Eddins’ opinion explained why the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court gives the same words a different meaning than the U.S. Supreme Court, criticizing the Supreme
'''Climate Change.'''
'''Originalism.''' Eddins has been an outspoken critic of originalism and the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref name=":8" /> He has criticized originalism for chaining itself strictly to the past.<ref name=":9" /> His opinions have observed that when the Constitution was ratified, women, minorities, and non-property owners did not share the same legal rights or political participation as the white, male, property owners who drafted the Constitution.<ref name=":9" /> In his ''Sunoco'' concurrence, Eddins wrote, “Originalism revives their value judgments. To constrain the value judgments of contemporary judges!”<ref name=":8" /> At his confirmation hearing before the Hawaiʻi State Senate, Eddins called originalism “a silly way to interpret the law.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lovell |first=Blaze |date=2020-11-17 |title=Senators Dig In To Hawaii Supreme Court Nominee's Positions |url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/11/senators-dig-in-to-hawaii-supreme-court-nominees-positions/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Honolulu Civil Beat |language=en}}</ref> His opinions have criticized originalists on the U.S. Supreme Court for cherry-picking history and getting the facts wrong to advance preferred policy preferences.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilkinson |first=Francis |date=February 15, 2024 |title=
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'''Access to Public Records'''. Eddins’ opinions have addressed access to public records for journalists and state agencies. The State of Hawaii Office of the Auditor sought records from the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), which OHA claimed were protected by its attorney-client privilege.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=Office of Hawaiian Affairs v. Kondo, 153 Hawaiʻi 170, 528 P.3d 243 (2023) |url=https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SCAP-21-0000701.pdf}}</ref> The Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled that privilege protected the records.<ref name=":11" /> In another case, investigative journalists from Honolulu Civil Beat sued the Hawaii Attorney General for access to the
'''Hawaiian Homelands Settlement.''' The 1920 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act created a land trust to provide homesteads to Native Hawaiians.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=Rivera v. Cataldo, 153 Hawaiʻi 320, 537 P.3d 1167 (2023) |url=https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SCPW-23-0000571.pdf}}</ref> Due to poor administration of the trust, thousands of Native Hawaiians waited decades but never received homestead leases.<ref name=":13" /> In 2022, the State of Hawaii settled decades-long litigation with Native Hawaiian trust beneficiaries.<ref name=":13" /> The State agreed to pay $328 million, once all litigation over the settlement ended.<ref name=":13" /> Self-represented plaintiff Rickey Rivera asked the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court to review his claim that he was eligible to receive a payout from the settlement.<ref name=":13" /> His claim had the potential to delay payout of the settlement for months, if not years.<ref name=":13" /> Eddins, writing for the court, expeditiously resolved
'''Plavix Litigation.''' Eddins’ opinion vacated an $834 million penalty that a Hawaiʻi circuit court imposed on Bristol Myers Squibb and Sonofi, makers of the anti-platelet drug Plavix.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=State ex rel. Shikada v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., 152 Hawaiʻi 418, 526 P.3d 395 (2023) |url=https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SCAP-21-0000363.pdf}}</ref> The State of Hawaiʻi had sued the companies, arguing that they concealed the fact that the drug
==References==
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[[Category:Public defenders]]
[[Category:William S. Richardson School of Law alumni]]
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