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Manglona takes oath as district court Chief Judge
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Posted on Aug 01 2011
Ramona Villagomez Manglona was sworn-in as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the NMI during a private ceremony on Saturday.
According to Bill Bezzant, federal court’s chief deputy clerk yesterday, it was Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of Guam, who administered Manglona’s oath of office.
“It was a private ceremony with only staff and family, and the District Court,” Bezzant told Saipan Tribune in an e-mail.
Bezzant said there will be a public investiture ceremony at a later date where the press and the public will be invited.
Manglona, 44, the first female federal judge for the District Court for the NMI, was appointed for a 10-year term.
In an interview with the Saipan Tribune on Wednesday, Manglona said she thinks it would be an honor to have the chief judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Alex Kozinski, administer her oath.
If Kozinski will not be able to do so, Manglona said she would prefer to have the nearest federal judge, and that would be Tydingco-Gatewood of Guam.
She also disclosed that she will soon be resigning as Superior Court associate judge—a position she has held since 2003.
The U.S. Senate confirmed on Wednesday her nomination to serve as a district court judge in the NMI. The position has been vacant since Feb. 28, 2010 when Alex Munson retired.
Manglona received her commission from President Barack Obama on Friday.
It was CNMI Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, who recommended to President Obama Manglona’s nomination to be a federal court judge.
