SENATE APPORTIONMENT Legislature asks U.S. Supreme Court for extension

The CNMI Legislature has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an extension in filing a motion in connection with an appeal questioning the decision of the U.S. District Court that upheld the Senate composition of three Senators each for the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

In a letter to William K Suter, Clerk of Court of the U.S. Supreme Court, the CNMI Legislature represented by its counsel, Stephen Woodruff, asked the deadline to be extended until December 1, 1999.

According to Woodruff, he learned on Sept. 30, 1999 that the Rayphand V. Torres case has been docketed and that an October 20, 1999 deadline has already been set.

According to Woodruff, when he called up Washington D.C. to find out whether the case has been docketed, he was told that the Court has not received it at that time. It turned out later that a confusion has apparently occurred because the person in the court docket was looking for the name Rayphand when the case was actually docketed as Torres.

The lawyer for the appellants had reversed the order of the plaintiffs in the caption of the Jurisdictional Statement from the way they had appeared in the District Court, Woodruff said.

Another reason cited by Woodruff in seeking an extension is the geographic distance between the CNMI and Washington D.C. Saipan is approximately 10,000 miles from Washington D.C. which means that they have to contend with the time difference and logistical and communications difficulties unknown to the usual litigants of the court.

Copies of the jurisdictional statement were received only last Sept. 27, 1999, a full week after the case was docketed and nearly two weeks after the printer effected service by mail.

The counsels for the Board of Elections and the CNMI did not receive their copies until last Oct. 5, 1999.

A decision earlier written by District Court Judges Alex Munson and John Unpincgo, and Senior Circuit Judge Clifford Wallace said the U.S. Congress was exercising its valid authority when it agreed to the NMI Covenant negotiators to deny Saipan voters the guarantee of the “one person, one vote” rights.

The complaint maintained that the composition of the CNMI Senate is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because of the great disparity in the population of the three senatorial districts. (Lindablue F. Romero)