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Sources: Fitial to name Camacho as new judge
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Posted on Aug 07 2011
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial will appoint former House floor leader and practicing attorney Joseph James Norita Camacho as a Superior Court associate judge, sources close to the governor disclosed over the weekend.
Sources said that Fitial and Camacho met last week to discuss the issue of filling the vacancy on the Superior Court bench following the recent confirmation of Ramona V. Manglona as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the NMI.
“It is expected that the governor will issue a formal announcement soon to nominate attorney Joseph Camacho for the vacancy,” one source said.
When asked for comment yesterday, Camacho said that if he is nominated, he will “of course be very honored to serve the CNMI in such a prestigious and honorable capacity.”
“As the governor has yet to make a public and formal nomination, I will reserve from making additional comments at this time,” Camacho said.
Camacho ran for lieutenant governor in 2009 under the ticket of Juan Guerrero. In the succeeding runoff election, he threw his support behind Fitial, giving Fitial the much needed votes to win re-election.
Camacho ran for U.S. Delegate in 2010 under the Covenant Party, but came in second behind Gregorio Kilili Sablan.
He was an instrumental member of Fitial’s Blue Ribbon Committee that successfully merged and transitioned Fitial and other Covenant Party members to the Republican Party.
“Attorney Camacho has an uncanny political talent to turn defeat into victory. He always seems to end up on the winning side,” another source said.
Last Wednesday, by a vote of 8-0 the Senate passed an initiative reducing the number of associate judges from at least four to three. The CNMI Constitution requires one presiding judge and at least four associate judges.
Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind- Rota), the initiative’s author, stated that there are fewer cases being filed in court in the past several years and the CNMI government is in bad financial shape. He said the demand for at least four associate judges can no longer be justified.
