Karimipour gets Teno nomination, finally By MAR-VIC CAGURANGAN

Masood Karimipour has finally been nominated as the CNMI’s chief public defender, and the Senate is expected to confirm his appointment next week.

“The Lieutenant governor and I look forward to having an experienced and capable person to fill this vital role, and feel that Mr. Karimipour is the right choice,” Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio wrote in the nomination letter he submitted to the Senate on Oct. 29.

Karimipour has been serving as public defender in an acting capacity since his predecessor Harvey Palefsky resigned five months ago.

“Mr. Karimipour is definitely going be confirmed by the Senate. He has the senators’ unanimous support. He is highly qualified for the position,” said Senate Majority leader Pete Reyes, a member of the Senate Committee on Executive Appointment and Governmental Investigation.

The confirmation hearing is scheduled for Friday next week.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve the people of the community,” Karimipour said.

A graduate of Brooklyn Law School, Karimipour is an expert in criminal defense. He served as public defender in Manhattan, New York for eight years before coming to Saipan to join the CNMI Public Defender’s Office in 1997.

He also worked with the Civil Liberties Union, specializing in the areas of free speech and rights of the poor.

“My desire to defend the poor was the reason I went to law school,” said the Iran-born Karimipour, who immigrated to the United States when he was 16 years old.

What he considers the biggest feat in his career was his successful rescue of a man on death row in Florida. Karimipour’s defense resulted in the reversal of conviction of the man who was wrongly convicted for murder.

Karimipour vowed to continue his crusade to defend the rights of the poor through his office.

“This is the office that poor people turn to when they are in distress and need legal help. Our job is to make sure that the poor people of Saipan obtain equal access to justice,” he said.

But the public defender’s job, Karimipour said, can be carried out more efficiently if the office is given adequate funds.

“I would like to see the government fund this office sufficiently to allow us to represent the needy people of the community properly. I’d like to see this office treated on equal footing as the Attorney General’s Office,” Karimipour said.

“When that happens, you will see real fairness in the justice system,” he added.

The Public Defender’s Office has five attorneys, including Karimipour. The agency needs to hire one more attorney and one more investigator, he said.