When Judge Samuel P. King died in 2010 at the age of 94, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie called him "the heart and soul of Hawaii." Now, in King's own words, Judge Sam King: A Memoir presents the story of the man who not only witnessed Hawaiian history but helped shape the future of the islands he loved.
Born to one of Hawaii's most illustrious families, Samuel Pailthorpe King presided over state and federal courtrooms for more than a half-century—making landmark decisions with warmth, wisdom and an enduring humanity—but was perhaps best known for protecting people who had little or no power of their own. King presided over some of Hawaii's most sensational trials, from organized crime to the Palmyra murder trials, and upheld the 1967 Hawaii Land Reform Act, which shifted property ownership in Hawaii from large trusts to ordinary citizens. King was also a co-author of the original "Broken Trust" essay in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the subsequent book of the same title chronicling the mismanagement of the Bishop Estate by its trustees in the 1990s. He liked to observe that "people aren't created for laws; laws are created for people" and believed that the whole purpose of government, besides keeping its people safe, is to protect the underprivileged from the privileged. In the book's foreword, the late U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye called King "the real deal," noting that "Hawaii was fortunate to have had Sam King on the bench. He served the people of Hawaii well and brought honor to our state and nation."