The arrest of several Saint Louis School students —three of them football players — in connection with an egg-throwing incident in Lanikai forced us to consider whether we should name the students, even though all are 17 and would never be tried as adults.

By now, everyone knows the four students were accused of throwing eggs at the home of former Bishop Estate trustee Gerard Jervis, who allegedly got in his car (with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit) and caused them to crash their SUV into a utility pole guy wire. Jervis' attorney said the SUV hit the guy wire first, causing Jervis to smash his car into theirs.

As the editor who most strenuously argued for not naming the students — and who still does not believe they should be named — allow me to explain my logic.

The Advertiser's policy is not to name juveniles arrested or charged in crimes, unless the crimes are so egregious that the public interest in naming them outweighs their rights to privacy. These cases are handled in Family Court, where their identities are protected. If they were to be tried as adults for heinous crimes, I think we seriously would have to consider naming them.

For those readers who believed we should have named the four teenagers, the following letter sums up the reaction best.

"You have got to be kidding!" one woman wrote. "The Advertiser has decided not to publish the names of the hoodlums chased down by Gerard Jervis? I'm no fan of Jervis, dating back to his days as trustee for Bishop Estate. But these vandals deserved to finally be confronted by SOMEONE. I definitely expect to see their names in the paper. True, such recognition might embarrass them and their parents — and so it should."

Readers tend to get caught up in the emotion of the story — whether it was proper for Jervis to exact revenge on those who sought to vandalize his home — and many believe Jervis did the right thing. But The Advertiser's decision not to name the students has nothing to do with whether they need to be punished or to learn a lesson. The justice system (the school and hopefully their parents) should deal with that.

We had the four names within 48 hours of the accident and the fact that one of the students was well-known in the community and had signed a letter of intent for a local college football scholarship prompted some in the media to name him. Staff writer Peter Boylan, one of the main reporters on the story, has been pushing for the names to be published.

Boylan's arguments center around the visibility of Saint Louis School and the high standards it expects of its students. He further contends that being on the football team merits extra scrutiny because the players are seen as role models. He has his own specific reasons for naming all four students. He was backed by Steve Petranik and David Butts, the two most senior editors on the local news desk.

Others argued that many in the community already know the identities of the students — their names briefly surfaced in the feedback section of our online postings — and that by not naming them, we make the entire football team look suspect.

I had no problem saying three were members of the football team and don't buy the argument that the entire team is besmirched. But I also don't think the reputation of Saint Louis School gives us carte blanche to name the students. The fact that other media have or have not named them shouldn't influence The Advertiser's decision.

Last week we learned that the students were disciplined by the school and that police had decided not to file charges against them. Had we printed the names, in what position would that have placed the four teens, with their names in The Advertiser and permanently inscribed in cyberspace for all to see?

Nearly a year ago, we wrote a story about the son of Gerald Pa'akaula for his role in the beating of a couple in the Waikele Shopping Center parking lot. Prosecutors said Pa'akaula punched a woman in the face and slammed her to the ground while also punching her husband and kicking him on the ground. The son was charged with second-degree assault on the husband.

Pa'akaula was sentenced to five years in prison. His 16-year-old son was sentenced to a year in youth prison. We chose not to name him.

Around that same time, a 15-year-old student was accused of raping and murdering Karen Ertell of 'Ewa Beach. A Family Court is trying to determine whether he should be tried as an adult. If he is, we may name him, but that hasn't happened.

The Waikele and 'Ewa Beach cases were far more serious and since we did not name those teenagers, identifying the Saint Louis students was out of the question. Knowing now that they won't be charged in the Lanikai case is further indication that we made the right call.

Mark Platte is senior vice president/editor of The Advertiser. Reach him at mplatte@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8080.