9th Circuit judges serve as main speakers at District Conference

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex A. Kozinski, Senior Circuit Judge Mary M. Schroeder, and Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith were the main speakers at the 20th Annual District Conference held at Kanoa Resort’s Seaside Hall on Saturday.

Kozinski had a conversation with CNMI Bar members, Schroeder talked about what she has learned about the Pacific that Washington should, while Smith focused on standards of review.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona and CNMI Bar Association treasurer Deborah Fisher served as moderators during the Bar conversation with Kozinski.

In a later interview, Manglona said the District Court gathers members of the CNMI Bar every year to bring continuing legal education for the attorneys.

Manglona said they try to bring speakers who are well-versed in areas of federal law so that members of the Bar are able to maintain their legal training.

“This year we’re very fortunate to have three federal judges come here to Saipan,” she said.

Manglona said the visit of Kozinski, Schroeder, and Smith is part of the extension of the Ninth Circuit’s oral arguments in Guam.

Manglona said the conference was made possible in conjunction with the Districts of Guam and NMI, and the Guam and CNMI Bar Associations.

Kozinski’s last visit to Saipan was five years ago. He recalled that his first visit was in 1989 when he sat on a territorial court with Judge Alex R. Munson.

Compared to his first visit, Kozinski said it seems that Saipan has gotten more lively, with a lot of commerce and a lot of tourists.

“So beautiful,” Kozinski said.

If he has any advice for lawyers, it is for them to be brief in their oral and written pleadings.

Kozinski averred that he is suspicious of government so when he gets cases involving the government, he exercises a lot of caution.

During his presentation, Kozinski pointed out that it is important for prosecutors to perform in an honorable way.

“If they commit a mistake, acknowledge it,” he said, adding that justice is not just about winning cases.

When asked about his dissenting opinions, Kozinski said he may have lost the battle but it is his hope that it will be corrected in future cases.

In writing pleadings, he said it should be like someone is having a conversation with another person. He said most lawyers misuse facts, not realizing that not everything on the record is relevant. Lawyers should tell what is the heart of the case and put the facts together similar to just having a conversation, he said.

As for lawyers who write chronologically, “nobody likes your story,” Kozinski said.

In an interview about her topic, Schroeder said that Washington doesn’t pay a lot of attention to what happens west of the Mississippi. She related that when she was chief judge of the Ninth Circuit, she frequently had to talk to folks in Washington and the bureaucracy, and to Senate and House staff. She said these people have never been in Arizona and across the Pacific so they need a lot of education.

Schroeder cited the law that extended federal immigration into the Commonwealth. That law, she said, was passed by people who’ve never been in the Commonwealth and have never seen the problem “so they didn’t really understand what they were doing.”

Schroeder’s advice to the CNMI lawyers is to travel to Washington, D.C., frequently and to ask people in Washington, D.C., to come and visit the CNMI and get them some educational programs on how to make things better here.

Smith, who talked about standards of review with CNMI Supreme Court Associate Justice John A. Manglona, said it’s his first time to visit Saipan.

“Wonderful except for the humidity. A fat kid doesn’t like humidity but otherwise I love it. It’s wonderful,” Smith later said in an interview.

Smith said that he and Justice Manglona, who was on the panel with him, advised lawyers that they should use the standards in determining what issues to appeal, in determining how to write their briefs for their appeal, and in arguing their appeal.

“If they look at the standards then it is easier to understand how to make the arguments, what to appeal, and what to say to use by their own appeal,” Smith said.

Attorney Claire Kelleher-Smith served as moderator in that discussion.

At the conference, CNMI Bar Association president Maya B. Kara and attorneys Bruce Mailman and Jane Mack talked about “CW Minefields: Ethical and Practical Considerations.”

Attorney Daniel B. Garrie talked about big data, privacy, and information security.