Civil rights groups, a former governor, a retired state chief justice and a descendant of Hawaiian royalty were among those filing legal briefs in opposition to the Lingle administration's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of a state Supreme Court decision barring Hawai'i from selling ceded lands.

Yesterday was the deadline for parties to file briefs in support of the position taken by the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs and four Native Hawaiians, which first filed suit against the state in the early 1990s seeking to halt the sale of ceded lands until claims by Native Hawaiians to those lands are settled.

Among those filing briefs: Abigail Kawananakoa, the great-grandniece of King David Kalakaua and Queen Kapi'olani; a trio consisting of former Gov. John Waihee, former Hawai'i Supreme Court Chief Justice William Richardson and current Senate President Colleen Hana- busa; the Hawai'i congressional delegation; the San Francisco-based Equal Justice Society and the Japanese American Citizens League; and the National Congress of American Indians.

The Hawai'i Supreme Court reaffirmed a lower court's decision, and the state wants the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn it. Oral arguments are scheduled for Feb. 25.