Court denies motion to disqualify justice in Laolao golf course case

Supreme Court Justice Pro Tem Timothy H. Bellas denied Friday for lack of sufficient basis the motion by lawyer Theodore R. Mitchell and golfer Juan M. San Nicolas to disqualify Justice Pro Tempore Alberto C. Lamorena III from further presiding over the controversial civil case they filed against the developers of a golf course on Saipan.

According to Mr. Mitchell and Mr. San Nicolas, Justice Lamorena has shown bias because he concurred in the summary suspension of Mr. Mitchell instead of referring it before the CNMI Bar Ethics Committee.

Justice Lamorena is one of the three justices who ordered the suspension of Mr. Mitchell last Aug. 1 for disobeying an earlier order in connection with the lawsuit filed by Mr. San Nicolas against the owners of Saipan Lao Lao Golf Course.

The two other justices who signed the decision suspending Mr. Mitchell from the practice of law were Associate Justice Alexandro Castro and Justice Pro Tem Pedro Atalig.

In his order, Justice Bellas maintained that the courts have inherent powers to suspend or dismiss an attorney. “Commentators have also noted occasions in which, under its inherent power, a court has disbarred, suspended from practice, or reprimanded attorneys for abuse of the judicial process. These inherent powers derive from the absolute need of a judge to maintain order and preserve the dignity of the court, as well as the lawyer’s role as an officer of the court that granted the attorney admission,” said Justice Bellas.

The Supreme Court has earlier directed Mr. Mitchell and Mr. San Nicolas to turn over $800,056.38 plus interest to the court taken from the bank account of Saipan Lau Lau Development and Shimizu Corp.

Mr. Mitchell and Mr. San Nicolas took the money after a jury at the Superior Court awarded Mr. San Nicolas some $1.5 million in compensatory damages when he fell into the pit at the edge of the white tee box at the 5th hole, causing him leg injuries. However, the two continued to defy the high court’s order.

Justice Bellas noted that the affidavit submitted to the court was procedurally defective because it was signed by lawyer Jeanne H. Rayphand, counsel for Mr. Mitchell and not by the party in the case. But even if the procedural prerequisites had been satisfied, Justice Bellas said the contention that “the court lacks the authority to suspend or dismiss attorneys directly for misconduct, is simply wrong.”

Furthermore, Justice Bellas said Mr. San Nicolas and Mr. Mitchell failed to explain how Justice Pro Tem Lamorena’s role as pro tempore judge in a proceeding where Justice Atalig was a litigant gave even an inference of impropriety.