King, Warfield, two other NMI Bar passers take oath

Former Miss CNMI Universe Janet Han King and chief prosecutor Jeffery L. Warfield Sr., along with two others who passed the NMI Bar, took their oath of attorney yesterday in the Supreme Court.

Associate Justice John A. Manglona administered the swearing in of attorneys King, Warfield, James W. Hofman II, and Braddock J. Huesman.

In a brief speech, a teary-eyed King stated that her parents—Juan Borja King and Lucy Han King—taught her to build a strong foundation.

“We talk about the rule of law, commitment, integrity, sincerity. And from my mom and dad, that’s where it all started. Mom and dad, thank you for being here!” said the former beauty queen, who then walked outside the court’s bar and hugged her mother who was in a wheelchair, crying.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune, King said it has been a more special day for her because her parents were able to make it to the ceremony.

“And I just want to thank them for making the effort to come out here,” she said, referring to her parents who left Tinian just to attend the ceremony.

King also expressed her congratulations to the three other new Bar members.

“I think we all did very well. We’ll do our best to uphold this profession,” she said.

With respect to the Bar examination, King said she was sincerely anxious for the results.

“Although I took the Hawaiian and Guam Bars, the CNMI Bar has that added weight because it means so much to me. So it was more of an expectation. It was more worry whether I would pass or not and I am glad that I did,” she said.

King said it was a very difficult exam. “Anyone who is going to take it should definitely study hard,” she said.

King is an assistant public defender. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Law.

King was born and raised on Tinian. Her father is originally from Rota. Her mother is a Korean.

After graduating at Wellesley College, she went to law school at the University of Nebraska College of Law and graduated in May 2006.

King studied and passed the Hawaii and Guam Bar Examinations while taking care of her mother.

For Warfield, he said he never thought he’d be sworn in as an NMI Bar member.

Warfield said he and his wife and two children have been on Saipan for four years now.

He recalled that when they first arrived on the island he asked himself why they got here because at the time there was no power because of a typhoon.

Two months later, Warfield said, he asked the same question as another typhoon hit the island so there was no power and their apartment was flooded.

“Four years later, we’re still here and taking the Bar exam. The community has reached out to us. We now feel part of the CNMI community. And I just want to thank you…to everyone who have embraced us,” he said.

Warfield is chief prosecutor for the Attorney’s General’s Criminal Division. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School.

Hofman said he is pleased to be a member of the NMI Bar. He vowed to do his best as part of the Calvo and Clark law firm and as a member of the legal community in general.

“I’m very gratified to be a member here,” said Hoffman, who is a member of Calvo and Clark law firm based in Guam.

Hofman is a graduate of Washington University School of Law.

For Huesman, the attorney admissions ceremony was a special moment for him.

“I love it here. I am just honored to be here,” said Huesman, who is now working as an assistant attorney general assigned at the AGO’s Civil Division.

Huesman used to be a law clerk for associate justice Alexandro Castro. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University School of Law.