Castro says CNMI courthouses are deteriorating

CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro said yesterday that the state of the Judiciary is not looking good, comparing it to an ambulance heading to the emergency room.

Lt. Gov. Ralph Torres, fourth from left in front, joins Senate President Victor Hocog, House Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero, justices, judges, new attorneys and guests during yesterday’s Law Day proclamation signing and attorney admissions ceremony at the CNMI Supreme Court. (Ferdie De La Torre

“Our courthouses on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota are deteriorating,” said Castro in his opening remarks during a proclamation signing declaring May 1 as Law Day in the CNMI and attorney admissions ceremony held in the Supreme Court.

With federal funding being inconsistent and local funding subject to political pressures, Castro believes the long-term solution is a legislative initiative that will provide a constitutionally mandated minimum funding level for the Judiciary.

In the attorney admissions ceremony, Castro administered the oath of attorney for Kimberly Kay King-Hinds, A. Michailian T. McLoughlin, and Cong Nie, who recently passed their NMI Bar applications.

King-Hinds received her bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University and J.D. from the University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law. She is currently an in-house counsel for the NMI Settlement Fund. She is the wife of assistant attorney general Chester Hinds.

McLoughlin received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University and J.D. from the Golden Gate University School of Law.

Nie received his bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University in China and J.D. from the Vanderbilt Law School.

In his remarks, Castro pointed out that judicial employees have not had a raise in the last 15 years and that courthouse security on Saipan is strained to the breaking point.

He said private attorneys who are appointed to represent indigent persons are forced to work for months before being paid.

He also noted that the Judiciary on Saipan is operating on a skeleton crew, particularly the family court and probation office.

He said the problem began during the Trust Territory era when the Judiciary was treated as a “department” during the budget process rather than as the third branch of government.

“Now is the time for all three branches of our government to come together and provide sufficient funding to the Judiciary because tomorrow may be too late,” Castro said.

The chief justice asked Gov. Eloy S. Inos and lawmakers to address the Judiciary’s budgetary needs as contained in its 2015 budget request.

In the Judiciary’s efforts to look for other sources of funding, Castro thanked Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio for spearheading efforts to secure federal funding.

Marianas High School senior English teacher Gretchen Decker, who is an alumna of the Judiciary’s summer pre-law program, read the proclamation and delivered remarks.

In honor of the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, the American Bar Association has selected “Magna Carta: Symbol of Freedom Under Law” as its Law Day theme.

Decker briefly discussed the history of the Magna Carta, which she said is first and foremost a symbol of humanity’s quest for freedom.

Decker said the job of instituting a just system that guarantees fairness for all citizens and all non-citizens as well is still a dream but the CNMI has made some progress.

In the CNMI today, she said, gun control, gay marriage, voting rights, Article 12, military training on the Commonwealth’s limited land mass, to name a few, are current issues that leaders and law practitioners are encountering.

“I have the sincerest hope that the day will come when we have improved representation in Washington,” she said.

Decker hopes that a more precise definition of what it means to be a part of the American family can reflect the desires and the sacrifices of the people of the CNMI.

Castro led the justices and judges as well as Lt. Gov. Ralph Torres, Senate President Victor B. Hocog (Ind-Rota) and House Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan), in signing the proclamation declaring May 1 as Law Day in the CNMI.