‘Soft-opening’ of new US Courthouse

Members of the Manta Ray Battalion Color Guard from Saipan Southern High School raised the U.S. flag, then the CNMI flag at the U.S. Courthouse during yesterday’s historic soft-opening ceremony for the state-of-the art federal courthouse building in Gualo Rai.

First, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona handed the U.S. flag to the Manta Ray Battalion Color Guard, followed by Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy giving the CNMI flag to the color guard.

And, for the first time, the U.S. Courthouse witnessed both U.S. and the CNMI flags being raised as U.S. District Court for the NMI deputy clerk Aiko Erungel sang the U.S. and the CNMI national anthems.

Due to COVID-19 social distancing protocols, the ceremony was a stripped-to-the-bare-essence affair, attended only by the building management and tenants. Manglona and Kennedy, along with building management and tenants, wore masks and stood apart from each other.

In her welcoming remarks, Manglona said the day marks the first day that the District Court is open for business “in this beautiful building.”

“We’re recognizing this historic moment by coming together and witnessing the initial raising of the U.S. and CNMI flags at this courthouse,” Manglona said.

The new building houses the District Court, which includes the Office of the Clerk of Court and the U.S. Pretrial and Probation Office. It is also home to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Protective Service.

The Manta Ray Battalion Color Guard from Saipan Southern High School raise the U.S. and CNMI flags at the U.S. Courthouse during yesterday’s historic soft-opening ceremony for the state-of-the art federal courthouse building in Gualo Rai. (KRIZEL TUAZON)

Manglona said they collectively worked with the General Services Administration to ensure they would each get the office spaces they needed to accomplish their respective missions. GSA was unable to send someone join the ceremony in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic situation and travel restrictions. Manglona said that GSA, however, is celebrating with them.

Some of the board members of the landlord company, Marianas Management Corp., were also at the ceremony. Manglona recognized the presence of Norman T. Tenorio, Patricia T. Palacios, and Frances T. Demapan, and representing MMC president Clarence T. Tenorio and members Annie T. Sablan and Priscilla T. Tenorio, who were unable to join them, was Bo T. Palacios.

Also present were two MMC representatives who played critical roles in this project: Corporate projects manager Somia T. Quan and chief financial officer Yenny Tom.

Manglona said she had hoped to host a public grand opening celebration two weeks ago with dignitaries from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, GSA, the CNMI government, members of the community, as well as the public. The COVID-19 virus, however, forced them to postpone the grand opening and limit the in-person attendance to building management and tenants only.

“We believe it is not the appropriate time for a grand celebration when this pandemic remains a constant threat here in the CNMI, and has wreaked havoc to the nation and the world,” the judge said.

Manglona said they are pleased with the design features of this courthouse, which include a spacious 2,400-square-foot column-free courtroom with a unique oculus skylight; a large multi-purpose space that functions as a second courtroom, two judges’ chambers, a jury assembly room, a law library, and multiple office spaces facing the lagoon.

“At the entrance of the Clerk’s Office, one can take in the view of the verdant mountainside to the east, and the ever-present ships toward the horizon on the west, all from one spot,” Manglona said.

The judge said her predecessor, Senior Judge Alex R. Munson, began the quest for a new courthouse shortly after the 1995 bombing of the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City. She said Munson made some progress along the way, but the circumstance that provided the necessary momentum occurred after he retired when there was no sitting chief judge for the NMI.

Manglona recalled that in October 2010, a van rammed through the ground floor courtroom at the Horiguchi Building, destroying several rows of public gallery seating. She said Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, as the designated judge for the U.S. District Court for the NMI, received the call about the incident. Manglona said Tydingco-Gatewood immediately took action to continue the quest and push for a new, secure courthouse.

Manglona said that as soon as she became chief judge nine years ago, she made it her mission to find a place that meets the national standards of a federal courthouse. Since then, she said, she worked with many judges to get GSA to prioritize the NMI among the many other courts’ requests for new facilities throughout the country.

Starting with the Ninth Circuit, then chief judge Alex Kozinski and Circuit executive Cathy Catterson assigned assistant circuit executive Cliff Harlan to work closely with them on this project, Manglona said. She said current Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Thomas and circuit executive Libby Smith have provided continuing support and will hopefully join them at the grand opening.

At the national level, the Judicial Conference of the U.S. supported their request with funding approval, and its Space and Facilities Committee, along with the staff at the Administrative Office, helped her reach out to the GSA leadership to push this project to the front, Manglona said.

Manglona said it was at this meeting that she was introduced to GSA’s Regional 9 Commissioner Dan R. Brown, head of the Pacific Rim Public Buildings Service.

The judge said that Brown and his team worked closely with them every step of the way, and now join them in celebrating this accomplishment.

Manglona said the building is the result of MMC undergoing three time-consuming GSA selection processes. Manglona said that during the last two selection processes, Kennedy represented the court in numerous meetings.

The judge said Kennedy, along with court architect Walter Popen, chief deputy Bill Bezzant, and IT system administrator Glenn Mendoza, worked to keep a watchful eye on the details that GSA negotiated on their behalf to ensure federal courthouse requirements and their (court) expectations were satisfied.

Manglona recognized the hard work that the U.S. Marshal’s team, especially their vendor, had to put in to even make it possible for the court to open operations yesterday.

She said these past couple of months, as MMC and the contractor, Future World, were finalizing the project to turn over the building to GSA, the U.S. Marshal’s team started installing the security systems. She said members of the Marshal’s team went through mandatory quarantines and COVID-19 tests before they could put in the hours required.

Manglona said MMC literally took parts of the Kannat Tabla hillside to fill this site, solidifying the building foundation and protecting it from potential tsunamis.

MMC and its contractor, Future World, immediately started on this project soon after the December 2017 groundbreaking ceremony. Along the way, MMC and Future World encountered increased tariffs, survived Super Typhoon Yutu’s devastation, and then persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic and air travel shutdown.

“Despite these incredible obstacles, we now stand in awe in front of this wonderfully pleasing structure, complete with manicured tropical landscaping,” she said.

Manglona said the building reduces stress on the natural environment by providing more energy efficiency and generating less waste. “It also has state-of-the-art security system, IT, energy-efficient air-conditioning, and soon audio-video technology,” the judge added.

U.S. Attorney for Guam and the CNMI Shawn N. Anderson, along with prosecutors and staff of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, attended the ceremony.

Anderson said in a later interview that the court has done a great job of bringing a lot of different people together to get the courthouse done. “It’s really historic. It turned out to be a really, really great building. I think it will be great to the community and it’s really outstanding for the people of the CNMI,” he said.

The District Court at the Horiguchi Building was closed last Friday to allow court staff to relocate to the new U.S. Courthouse. The District Court resumed operations yesterday.