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Cenzon eyed to replace Tydingco-Gatewood
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Posted on Nov 16 2020
President Donald J. Trump announced over the weekend his intention to replace Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood with Guam Superior Court Judge Maria Teresa Bonifacio Cenzon.
Tydingco-Gatewood, who is chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Guam, will keep her position until Cenzon is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Territory judges serve a term of 10 years subject to renewal by renomination and confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood
President George W. Bush appointed Tydingco-Gatewood in 2006, making her the first female Chamorro chief judge of the District Court of Guam. In May 2016, President Barack Obama renominated her to another 10 years on the bench. In January 2017, her nomination was returned to the president at the adjournment of the 114h U.S. Congress.
Tydingco-Gatewood presides over many cases filed before the U.S. District Court for the NMI. One of those cases was the Betty Johnson’s class action against the NMI Retirement Fund and the CNMI government that was resolved with a settlement agreement.
Maria Teresa Bonifacio Cenzon
Cenzon was sworn into office as a judge of the Guam Superior Court in 2012. She is the first Filipina-American to serve on the bench in Guam courts.
Prior to her 2012 appointment to the bench, Cenzon served as chief legal counsel to the Governor of Guam and director of Policy, Planning & Community Relations for the Unified Judiciary of Guam.
Cenzon obtained her B.A. from Marquette University and her Juris Doctor (law degree) from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
