Fitial withdraws nomination of Inos as judge

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has withdrawn his nomination of attorney Perry Inos as a Superior Court judge.

Sen. Maria Frica T. Pangelinan told Saipan Tribune that Fitial withdrew the nomination of Inos before Sen. Paul Manglona could file the report being prepared by the Senate Committees on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations, and Fiscal Affairs.

“This way, the governor could still re-appoint him (Inos),” said Pangelinan who is a member of EAGI and chair of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs.

The nomination of Inos was among the issues discussed during Friday’s Senate session.

Press Secretary Charles Reyes Jr. yesterday confirmed that the governor withdrew Inos’ nomination on Friday.

“I think the governor intends to submit [the nomination] at a later date. I think there are some technical reasons. I don’t know the exact reasons,” Reyes said.

The press secretary said he does not know as to when Fitial would resubmit to the Senate the nomination of Inos to the bench.

A draft report of EAGI and Fiscal Affairs proposed to return with no action the appointment of the Rota lawyer in order for the government save money in light of the declining courts’ caseload and the dwindling CNMI revenues.

The draft report likewise asked the Legislature and the CNMI people for a re-examination of the structural make-up of the Superior Court considering the significant reduction of cases and the government revenues.

The report, however, pointed out that the position of the committees is that Inos is still qualified to be appointed again in the future should a provision in the NMI Constitution not be modified and an assessment of the government’s general fund resources allows for the funding of the fifth judge.

Fitial appointed Inos on June 19, 2008, as judge following the resignation of Juan T. Lizama.

EAGI has yet to examine Inos’s submissions, education, credential, community involvements, business experiences, financial statements, or the public’s concerns.

The CNMI Constitution requires that the Superior Court consist of five judges.

At present, there are four judges in the Superior Court. Each associate judge currently earns a base yearly salary of $120,000. This number does not include retirement fund obligations.

Each chamber reportedly consists of at least two employees: a clerk and a law clerk, each of which are entitled to base salaries as well as retirement obligations.

Law clerks are normally hired from outside the CNMI and traditionally employing them includes costs for moving personal belongings and a house rental allowance for the duration of their stay.