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Manglona presides over 1st jury trial as District Court chief judge
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Posted on Oct 26 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
Ramona Villagomez Manglona presided yesterday in her first jury trial as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the NMI.
Manglona’s first jury trial is an immigration fraud case involving Dongjun Li, a 38-year-old Chinese national who allegedly tried to sneak into a Los Angeles-bound flight using fake papers. Assistant U.S. attorney Beverly McCallum is prosecuting the case, while court-appointed attorney Mark Scoggins is counsel for Li.
Manglona’s first hearing as District Court’s chief judge was an arraignment on Aug. 4, 2011, that also involved the same defendant and the same lawyers.
Manglona was sworn-in as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the NMI during a private ceremony on July 30.
Manglona, 44, the first female federal judge for the District Court for the NMI, was appointed to a 10-year term.
At yesterday’s trial, the U.S. government called to the witness stand a Delta Air Lines personnel who narrated to the court how she noticed the fake travel documents that Li turned in at the Saipan International Airport on July 15, 2011.
The personnel said that she noticed several misspelled words and a questionable signature in Li’s documents.
When Saipan Tribune left the courtroom, Raymond Salas, a staff of the U.S. Custom and Border Protection, was still on the witness stand.
The trial will continue today, Wednesday, at 9am.
