Judiciary seeks $15.24M budget for fiscal year ’23

The CNMI Judiciary has requested a budget of $15.24 million for fiscal year 2023 in anticipation of a rise in demand for judicial services as the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic changes and precautionary measures are rolled back.

In order to meet this demand, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro and Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja asked for help in retaining all current Judiciary personnel, granting all requested new number of positions, and approving a 10% pay increase across-the-board for employee retention.

Using American Rescue Plan Act funding, the Judiciary has been able to employ 24 employees on Saipan, three on Tinian, and two on Rota.

“This is an extraordinary achievement in light of the expiration of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program,” Castro and Naraja told Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) and House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) in the Judiciary’s budget request recently submitted to the Legislature.

They said normalcy has been severely disrupted by the pandemic, affecting staff, their daily operations, their ability to deliver services, and day-to-day living.

Amidst these difficulties, Castro and Naraja said, the Judiciary has evolved, adapted, and explored effective ways to provide access to justice. Using ARPA funding, the court implemented new technology in every courtroom and division, allowing judges to hold virtual hearings and staff to work remotely.

Castro and Naraja said they also enhanced surveillance, retrofitted facilities for safety, provided for sanitization of facilities, and equipped alternate sites. They said the pandemic has been a disruption, but it has also driven innovation to create efficient practices and expand services.

The Judiciary established the Mental Health Court docket, bringing together criminal justice agencies and mental health professionals to identify and treat participants with serious mental illness.

Castro and Naraja said participants have been successfully admitted to the program despite initial struggles of setting up the docket from the ground up, and the court continues to research and prepare to open specialty dockets.

“This new expansion of services and innovation will continue post-pandemic and were made possible through the hard work and dedicated employees within the court system,” they said
The two Judiciary officials said that, had they not received federal assistance, staffing would have been cut, on top of reduced hours for the remaining staff, and the Tinian and Rota courthouses were on the brink of shutdown.

Instead, Castro and Naraja said they were able to bring back furloughed employees, keeping the courthouses open on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, and provide competitive salaries, thereby investing in good and dedicated employees.

They said their clientele is growing and the court is progressing in line with the national standards.

One aspect of growth that Castro and Naraja are aiming for in fiscal year 2023 is the construction of a new courthouse on Tinian. They said the Tinian Courthouse is nearly 30 years old, and is not equipped for social distancing, nor does it have adequate space for additional judicial services. They said a new courthouse will help alleviate these concerns and will be a welcome sight in the new Civic Center on Tinian, which could be utilized by generations to come for judicial and other public services.

Last August, the Judiciary submitted an amended fiscal year 2022 budget request in the amount of $12.85 million that reflects, among others, a 10% salary increase across-the-board, with the exception of justices and judges.

Under the fiscal year 2022 budget law, the Judiciary is appropriated $5.93 million from the general fund and $2.10 million from ARPA funds, for a total of $8.04 million.