Previous Story
No judge appointed yet for ex-governor’s case
|
Posted on Apr 25 2023
The Guam Supreme Court has yet to appoint a judge to hear former governor Ralph DLG Torres’ criminal case, which is set for trial on June 5.
The Guam Supreme Court, which has been asked to appoint another Guam judge to preside over the criminal case against Torres, has yet to announce a replacement for Guam Superior Court judge Alberto Tolentino, who recently recused himself from the case.
Saipan Tribune learned that the CNMI Supreme Court has asked the Guam Supreme court to appoint a replacement for Tolentino to ensure that a conflict-free judge is appointed to preside over the high-profile trial.
Last April 19, Tolentino issued what’s referred to as a sua sponte order recusing himself. He did not elaborate but noted that the recusal is due to ongoing health issues.
The former governor’s jury trial is set to start on June 5, 2023.
Tolentino’s recusal left the Torres case without a judge once again as Tolentino was only appointed by the Supreme Court because all the CNMI’s judges recused themselves from hearing the case almost immediately after it was filed.
The OA Office of the Attorney General has charged Torres with 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft relating to the issuance of airline tickets for business class, first class, or other premium class travel for himself and/or his wife.
A little over a week prior to Tolentino’s recusal, Torres’ defense team filed two motions for reconsideration: a reconsideration of the court’s previous decision to deny dismissal of the case, and reconsideration of the court’s decision denying the team’s request to disqualify the OAG from prosecuting this case.
The prosecution has filed two separate motions opposing both motions.
