Junk appeal on Senate apportionment

Lawyers for the federal government as well as for the Tinian and Rota legislative delegation have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to junk an appeal filed in connection with a district court ruling that upheld the present CNMI Senate composition.

The party argued in court papers that the complaint by Representative-elect Stanley T. Torres and lawyer Jeanne Rayphand invoking “one person, one vote” does not have basis to warrant review by the Supreme Court.

They said that the decision by the federal district court in the Northern Marianas should be affirmed to quash further attempt to change the three-member representation in the Senate by each district of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

They also extensively reaffirmed the earlier ruling’s findings that many independent nations, including the United States, which have bicameral legislature have one house that is often malapportioned.

“This case does not present a substantial federal question warranting plenary review. It has no conceivable impact or importance beyond the distant borders of the Northern Mariana islands,” stated lawyers for both Rota and Tinian delegation in a joint motion submitted to the court on Dec. 10.

U.S. Solicitor General Seth P. Waxman and two other officials contended in a separate motion that CNMI Senate composition as provided under the Covenant was a political compromise to ensure “equal representation” for the two smaller islands.

“As trustee, the United States was obligated both to preserve local culture and to respect the right of the Northern Marianas people to exercise self-determination,” it read.

“The legislative arrangement… is the product of such self-determination… Invalidating it now would undermine the premise on which the CNMI itself was founded. As we have explained, the Constitution does not require that anomalous result,” they explained.

The complaints are expected to submit a rebuttal to the Supreme Court within 30 days from the filing of the motion, according to Mr. Torres.

“We are preparing our rebuttal of the motion to affirm that Saipan does not have equal representation for its 58,000 people as opposed to 2,000 to 3,000 people from both Tinian and Rota,” he said in an interview.

He added that they are confident that the Supreme Court will rule on their favor as there are nine justices who will review the case, while there were only three judges who issued the ruling in the federal court.

In the decision handed down last May by U.S. District Judges Alex R. Munson and John S. Unpingco, and Senior Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace, the court upheld the present Senate setup of three senators from each island and denied the 1997 complaint from Mr. Torres and Ms. Rayphand.

They maintained that the “one person, one vote” provided in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is not a fundamental right for citizens in the CNMI.

The complaint had asserted that the apportionment of the Senate seats is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause under such amendment because of the great disparity in the population of the three senatorial districts.

Both Mr. Torres and Ms. Rayphand immediately appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court and asked that eight senate seats be given to Saipan, and one each to Rota and Tinian. It is expected to decide on their appeal next year.