Teno appoints Manglona to Supreme Court

After weeks of anticipation, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday finally announced the appointment of Associate Judge John A. Manglona to the Supreme Court, almost 16 months since the retirement of former Chief Justice Marty W.K. Taylor.

At the same time, he named lawyer Eric S. Smith to the Superior Court to succeed the judge if he gets the advice and consent of the Senate as required under the Constitution.

There was no immediate reaction from Judge Manglona on his nomination. His office said he was on the other telephone line when Tribune called him up to seek his comment.

If confirmed, he will join Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan and Associate Justice Alexandro C. Castro to the three-seat judicial chamber. The two were appointed by Mr. Tenorio in July 1999, the same time he named Judge Manglona to the lower court.

Yesterday’s appointment to the Supreme Court filled a vacancy left by Justice Taylor who retired from government service in December 1998.

The governor expressed confidence over his new appointee as he offered his assistance to Judge Manglona in the Senate confirmation process.

“I am most pleased that you are willing to serve our people in this capacity,” Mr. Tenorio said in his appointment letter. “I have every confidence that you will fulfill the many duties and responsibilities this position carries with impartiality and in good conscience at all time.”

Elated
He also threw his support behind his other nominee to the judiciary whom he said is “qualified and will make valuable addition to our court system.”

Mr. Smith expressed elation over his appointment, adding that he had not expected the governor to submit his name yesterday to the Senate for confirmation.
“I’m very honored. I’m excited and I’m looking forward to be a judge,” he told in an interview.

Asked about his chances of getting the approval of the senators, Mr. Smith believed that the confirmation process would be “fairly smooth” as he is prepared to answer questions from them so they will learn more about his background and work history.

While Judge Manglona seemed to have locked the nomination as SC justice months before the governor’s announcement, the choice for his successor in the lower court had been a tight race.

Both Mr. Smith and another prominent lawyer, David Wiseman, were believed to be in the top of Mr. Tenorio’s list and, sources said, they had lobbied hard for the post.

The chief executive later had asked Mr. Smith for his resume and financial statement which led to his eventual appointment, according to the newly-appointed judge.

“I surmised that based upon that request, that I was being seriously considered [to the post]. But there was no advance communication from the governor that he would submit my name,” he said.

Background
Justice-designee Manglona, 40, has been a lower court judge since his appointment two years ago by the governor after a decade of private practice.

In May 1999, Guam Gov. Carl T. Gutierrez appointed him as designated justice to the Supreme Court Agana. He also served as designated judge of the U.S. District Court on Saipan.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1981; obtained his law degree three years later from Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska; and later completed Master of Laws from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific in Sacramento, California.

He was born on Rota and is now married to the former Mona Villagomez with whom he has two children.

Judge-designee Smith, a former U.S. Navy officer, brought with him almost three decades of experience in the legal profession here and in the mainland, particularly in California.
In 1985, he worked for the CNMI Attorney General’s Office, becoming its chief of the litigation division and of the intergovernmental relations division; and later its deputy attorney general.

He left the government in 1993 when he went back to private practice, emphasizing work as a litigator and as a negotiator with the United States and Commonwealth governments.

He attended the Blackburn College in Carlinville Illinois in where he received his undergraduate degree in 1964. He then completed his law degree at the Golden Gate College of Law in San Francisco in 1972.