Doug Chin is the attorney general of Hawaii. (Department of the Attorney General)
Doug Chin, the attorney general of Hawaii, is challenging President Donald Trump’s new travel ban.
On Tuesday, attorneys for the state of Hawaii asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of the new executive order. This makes Hawaii the first state to take legal action again the order, which Chin told Hawaii News Now is “nothing more than Muslim ban 2.0.”
Here’s what you need to know about Doug Chin, the attorney general of Hawaii, and his case against President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
1. He is the Son of Chinese Immigrants & Was Born in Seattle, Washington
According to the State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, Chin is the son of Chinese immigrants, and he was born in Seattle, Washington.
Chin earned his B.A. in English from Stanford University, and he studied law at the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law. Chin went on to serve as a trial attorney and a managing partner at Carlsmith Ball, a Honolulu-based law.
Chin currently resides in Honolulu with his wife and two kids. According to the Pacific Business News, he has a dog named Aristotle, who he likes to walk as a stress-reducer.
2. He Became the Honolulu City Prosecutor in 1998
In 1998, Peter Carlisle, prosecuting attorney of Honolulu, selected Doug Chin to be Honolulu’s city prosecutor.
One notable case that Chin worked on during this time was that of Vernon Bartley, a teenager who was accused of murdering and raping his neighbor because she was going to testify against him in a burglary case. Bartley was 15 years old at the time of the murder, but Chin decided he would be tried as an adult. Bartley was ultimately found guilty. Chin later told Hawaii News Now that this was the “most memorable case for me.”
Chin also worked on the case of Danny Friddle, a man who was accused of sexually assaulting his infant daughter. Chin argued that Friddle should receive an extended life sentence, not the typical 20-year sentence that comes with a conviction of first degree sexual assault. He was successful, and in 2009, Friddle was sentenced to life in prison, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
Chin served in this position for 12 years. Then, when Peter Carlisle became the mayor of Honolulu, he appointed Chin to be the city’s managing director.
3. He Was Named Hawaii Attorney General in 2015
In 2015, Hawaii Governor David Ige, a Democrat, nominated Douglas Chin to serve as the attorney general of Hawaii.
“It’s an honor for me to join the administration and serve as the attorney general,” Chin said at the time, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser. “This is an opportunity to solve problems, and I welcome it.”
Governor Ige said that Chin is a man of integrity.
“He is able to defend the state in court, facilitate and negotiate agreements, manage a large department and communicate well,” Ige said. “It’s rare to find someone who can do all those things.”
While attorney general of Hawaii, Chin issued an opinion in 2016 that daily fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling.
“Gambling generally occurs under Hawaii law when a person stakes or risks something of value upon a game of chance or upon any future contingent event not under the person’s control,” Chin said, according to Reuters. “The technology may have changed, but the vice has not.”
4. He Had Been Fighting the First Travel Ban in Court
Douglas Chin also took action against President Donald Trump’s first travel ban that was signed at the end of January.
Chin filed a lawsuit in federal court in January asking the court to block the implementation of the travel ban.
“What makes our country special and a beacon across the world is its inclusive democracy and the rule of law,” Chin said at the time, according to Big Island TV News. “Everyone in the United States, including the President, must follow the law and follow the Constitution.”
That original case was put on hold when a different federal judge issued a nationwide restraining order, temporarily halting the ban; an appeals court subsequently denied to reinstate the order, and this past week, and this past week, President Trump signed a revised version of the order that would fare better in court.
5. He Says that the Travel Ban Violates the Hawaii State Constitution
Douglas Chin and the state of Hawaii have asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order against the new executive order, arguing that it is in violation of their state Constitution.
“More broadly, the new Executive Order means that Hawaii will be unable to honor the commitments to nondiscrimination and diversity embodied in the state’s constitution, laws, and policies,” the filing reads. “For example, State agencies and universities cannot accept qualified applicants for open positions if they are residents of one of the six designated countries. This contravenes policies at the State’s universities and agencies that are designed to promote diversity and recruit talent from abroad.”
The filing goes on to say that the order effectively results in the establishment of a religion in the state of Hawaii, it inflicts damage to the state’s economy, and it subjects portions of its citizens to discrimination.
Donald Trump’s first executive order specifically said that religious minorities in the seven Muslim-majority nations should be prioritized. The new executive order removes this, and so there is no longer any reference to religion in it.
However, the president may run into issues due to the fact that during his campaign, he repeatedly called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, and this order is clearly an evolution of what he was talking about back then. During the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals hearing last month, the judges cited instances of Trump referring to his plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. as evidence of the fact that this order is, in fact, a Muslim ban.
They also cited a quote from Trump confidant Rudy Giuliani, who said in an interview on Fox News that Trump specifically asked him during the campaign how he could legally get away with banning Muslims from the country.
“So when [Trump] first announced it, he said, ‘Muslim ban,'” Giuliani explained. “He called me up. He said, ‘Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.'”