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Fitial renominates Perry Inos as SC judge
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Posted on Sep 04 2008
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has resubmitted his nomination of attorney Perry Inos as a Superior Court judge.
“I am confident that Mr. Inos is well qualified and will be a valued asset to the Commonwealth Judiciary,” Fitial said in a letter to Senate President Pete P. Reyes.
The Senate now has a fresh 90 days to act on Inos’ reappointment. If confirmed, Inos will serve a six-year term.
Fitial first named Inos in June 2008 as his pick to replace retired Judge Juan T. Lizama. But last month, the governor withdrew the nomination for unspecified reasons. At the time, the Senate Committees on Fiscal Affairs, and Executive Appointments and Government Investigations were poised to issue a report urging the Upper House to defer action on Inos’ appointment.
The draft report said the government could save money from leaving the judicial seat. It added that the Superior Court had reported a declining number of cases. Thus, a temporary lack of a fifth judge would have little impact on the caseload of the other judges.
The CNMI Constitution requires the Superior Court to have five judges.
At present, there are four judges in the Superior Court. Each associate judge currently earns a base yearly salary of $120,000. This number does not include retirement contributions.
Inos has been in private practice since 1997. Before that, he worked as a teacher at Rota High School, student coordinator at the Rota campus of the Northern Marianas College, assistant attorney general for the Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division, and associate attorney at the law office of now Supreme Court Justice John A. Manglona.
