3 lawyers, Hartig oppose proposed bail reform bill

Bruce Berline, Charity R. Hodson, Robert Glass and Robert T. Torres

Three lawyers and Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig are strongly opposed to a bill that intends to narrow the right to bail, imposes stricter conditions for release, and applies stronger enforcement of bail conditions.

CNMI Chief Solicitor Robert Glass, however, defends the legislation, House Bill 23-33, saying this really focuses on repeat violent offenders that have violated the conditions of their release and probation.

Rachel Anne Masga Sablan, who is the cousin of the late Keisha King, after whom the proposed bill is named, testified that she, along with her family, support the bill to ensure the safety of those with any connection to a convicted felon.

All three opinions on the bill were brought up during the public hearing on the bill last Tuesday by the House of Representatives Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee. The legislation, “The Keisha King Bail Reform Act.,” was introduced by committee chair Rep. Marissa Renee Flores (Ind-Saipan).

King was killed on March 12, 2020 by her boyfriend, Gordon Castro, a convicted felon with a substantial criminal history, who shot her.

One of the lawyers opposed to the bill, Charity Hodson, said she joins in the written comments on the bill submitted to the committee by Hartig and Robert T. Torres.

Hodson described the bill as an “incredible violation” of the rights of people in the CNMI and that it undermines the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”

“It unfairly targets anyone with a prior felony conviction, regardless of how long ago it occurred, or what type of felony it was, in total disregard to any possibility of rehabilitation or reintegration into the community,” she said.

Hodson said the bill eliminates any release on personal recognizance if there is an allegation of domestic violence, any prior felony conviction or any previous failure to appear, regardless of what that previous failure to appear was based upon.

She said eliminating release on personal recognizance on these grounds is a massive step backward.  Hodson said it disregards the progress made in criminal justice reform, which the CNMI has committed itself to, already with positive outcomes.

She cited an example the CNMI drug court system, which she said been seen as having a positive effect and rehabilitates individuals.

The lawyer said the CNMI criminal justice system should instead encourage rehabilitation, reduce recidivism, and ensure fair and equal treatment.

“This bill moves in an opposite direction and it creates unnecessary barriers to pretrial release,” said Hodson as she asked the committee to reject the bill.

Hodson also explained her opposition to House Bill 23-42, that seeks to amend procedures for a preliminary hearing in a criminal case.

Torres, who is a former chief Public Defender and former attorney general, said that Hartig, who is assisting the CNMI mock trial team off-island, had asked for an opportunity to be able to testify and that has not been accommodated. Torres said those who are engaged in criminal justice should be allowed to fully participate in this process.

“Otherwise, it is a hollow exercise in protecting constitutional rights,” Torres said.

The lawyer said they defend not criminals, but the Constitution and their rights.

“Presumed guilt is an absolute affront to the constitutional rights of the presumption of innocence and the Sixth Amendment right to bail,” he said.

Torres said the committee should stand on the Constitution before it passes laws that trample upon them.

He said what lawmakers sometimes do is import legislation from other states under the guise that they are good for the CNMI. “Well, there’s a reason we are in the Commonwealth and not in Texas or California, or any draconian states that are tough on law and do not give balance to a person’s right to justice,” Torres saidt.

He said it is true that that there have been instances like that of the King family where there was an unfortunate incident. “But you have to balance the rights of individuals, and ensure that the criminal justice system ensures justice for those convicted and let those who are innocent remain innocent and go free. And that is why you have the Judiciary,” Torres said.

He said this proposed legislation does nothing short of intruding and subverting the Judiciary’s role to ensure that justice is done.

“We ask this committee to be engaged in the process, to be careful and think things through  that legislation must be supported by facts and data and objective data, not emotionally driven,” Torres added.

Torres also discussed his opposition to House Bill 23-42, or the preliminary hearing legislation.

Veteran lawyer Bruce Berline said he wholly supports the comments made by Hodson and Torres. Berline said there are many problems with H. B. 23-33, as well as H.B. 23-42.

He said he would request as Torres suggested that further discussion should be done about any changes to the CNMI’s criminal justice procedure that has been in effect for years.

“It is problematic to suddenly change these procedures and to take power away from what are basically the experts in the field, the Judiciary, the prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys,” Berline said.

Assistant public defender Molly Dellert, who recently joined the Office of the Public Defender, said that Hartig asked her to attend the JGO meeting on his behalf and that Hartig asked that she largely echo Torres. She said she believes that Hartig would also echo the comments of Hodson and Berline.

Glass said that H. B. 23-33 focuses on repeat violent offenders. “We’re not talking about first-time offenders; this is about felony level defenders. That is the main gist of this bill,” Glass said.

He said this bill protects the community and ensures that things like what happened to Keisha King does not happen again. Glass said this also makes the process fairer as this ensures that judges get to consider the criminal history of these individuals, that they consider the history of these individuals, that they consider the history of appearance and non-appearance in court.

He denies that the proposed bill tramples on the Constitution. “This is a constitutional bill,” Glass said.

He also discussed H.B. 23-42 or the preliminary hearing bill, which he said actually just codifies what the current state of the law is.

Rachel Anne Sablan said her cousin, King, would have turned 36 last May 3, but due to what she describes as “the carelessness and the leniency” of the CNMI’s justice system, her family has heavy hearts.

“It has been exactly three years since the horrific incident took place in San Antonio. My family waited tirelessly for [the Department of Public Safety] to take action. And to this day, we still ask ourselves, why? And what could have been done to prevent this tragedy?” Sablan said.