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Camacho: Since ’14, only 15 cases were appealed and high court issued 6
Of 4 judges, Camacho handles most cases, trials
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho stated yesterday that since 2014, only 15 of the cases he has handled have been appealed and that the CNMI Supreme Court has issued only six out of those.
Camacho said the six cases are categorized as “other” because they involved procedural matters outside the merits of the case.
Camacho said four Supreme Court opinions upheld his rulings and one was voluntarily dismissed by the parties.
The judge also pointed out that of the cases that went to trial and parties appealed, the Supreme Court has not issued any opinion.
As of 2014, Camacho conducted 14 jury trials and 31 bench trials, for a total of 45 trials.
The judge disclosed the results and status of the cases that were appealed in his response to the Office of the Attorney General’s evaluation on the criminal appellate record—that of the 14 times the Supreme Court reviewed his rulings, the high court reversed or vacated his decision-making 12 times.
According to OAG’s evaluation, provided to Saipan Tribune on Monday, since June 25, 2014, the high court decided 29 criminal cases and that 14 of those were Camacho’s cases.
The evaluation also showed that of the 29 criminal cases, the high court reversed or otherwise vacated all or a portion of any Superior Court judge’s decision 17 times.
The OAG evaluates the criminal appellate record of judges who are up for retention on the bench. Camacho is seeking retention this Nov. 8 election.
Asked for comment about OAG’s evaluation, Camacho said the parties to a case have a right to appeal their case. When a party exercises his/her right to do so, there is no negative connotation.
“It just means that they are exercising their right to appeal. That is our system of law. Appeals may take several months to be resolved,” he said.
At present, of the four judges, Camacho handles the most cases such as all on Rota, half of the cases on Tinian, and his share of criminal and civil cases on Saipan. In addition, he also handles traffic cases and probate court.
Camacho also presides over the most number of trials.
Camacho said statistically, the more cases a judge handles means that numerically the number of cases appealed also increases.
