commonwealth of the northern mariana islands judiciary annual...

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Judiciary Annual Report

For Calendar Year 2007

Managing the Judicial Branch is a continuous cycle of planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating. This is especially true considering our current economic hardship. The Judicial Branch has to be inventive and frugal to keep pace with new technologies and increased de-mand for court services while still operating under crippling budgetary limitations. The in-creased complexity of court operations coupled with the emergence of new technologies has shifted priorities within the Judicial Branch, and necessitated innovative leadership ensuring that resources are directed where they are needed most. Budget shortfalls in the CNMI have reached alarming levels. The Judicial Branch today faces an unprecedented budget crisis and is currently experiencing deep budget cuts. Court leaders face enormous challenges in guiding the judiciary through the present fiscal crisis. As responsi-ble partners in government, the courts have an obligation to share in the sacrifices being made at all levels of government. However, the Judicial Branch’s obligation to be a good partner in government during this fiscal crisis in no way alleviates the absolute necessity and importance of providing the courts with adequate funding. Under our constitutional system, the courts are a separate and coequal branch of government responsible for upholding the rule of law upon which all our social and economic relationships are based. The courts perform critical roles such as protecting the constitutional rights of our citizens, serve as the ultimate arbiter of inter branch conflict, and resolving the legal problems of our citizens in criminal, family and civil matters. The courts are required to accept and resolve each of these cases filed and therefore cannot be deprived of the basic resources needed to carry out these constitutionally mandated functions. Despite the current harsh economic realities, we in the Judicial Branch face the looming fiscal challenges and escalating case demands with a commitment to the rule of law.

MIGUEL S. DEMAPAN

Chief Justice

A Message from the Chief Justice

2007 State of the Judiciary Report

Table of Contents

………………………………………….Structure of the Judicial Branch Page 4………………………………………………..2007 Judicial Branch Notes Page 5…………………………………..Supreme Court structure and statistics Page 6………………………………………………... Information Systems Unit Page 7…………………………………Superior Court structure and statistics Page 13…………………………………………Family Court Division statistics Page 18……………………………………...Commonwealth Recorder’s Office Page 19……………………………………………………..Marshal Service Unit Page 20………………………………………………...Office of Adult Probation Page 22……………………………………………….Law Revision Commission

SUPREME COURT

Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan

Associate Justice Alexandro C. Castro

Law Revision Commission

SUPERIOR COURT

Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja

Associate Judge David A. Wiseman

Associate Judge Ramona V. Manglona

Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo

Associate Justice John A. Manglona

Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama

Office of Adult Probation Commonwealth Recorder Family Court Division

Structure of the CNMI Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch completed the replacement of its Evans case management system with New Dawn Technologies’ JustWare Court case management system.

The Judiciary acquired digital courtroom re-cording equipment for all courtrooms within the CNMI, replacing antiquated analog court-room recording equipment.

The Judicial Branch acquired additional com-puters, servers, and scanners; thereby maintain-ing the judiciary’s commitment to keep its net-work on pace with current technological stan-dards. All system upgrades improve customer service capabilities.

Above from left: Annie Gillespie (CNMI Salvation Army), Chief Justice Miguel Demapan, Jonathan Grayson, Margaret Palacios, and Wayne Gillespie (CNMI Salvation Army).

In November 2007, the Law Revision Commission coordinated the second annual CNMI judiciary-wide charity drive in the spirit of the holidays and to promote philanthropy within the judici-ary. Canned goods, clothing, money, and toiletries were collected for the benefit of less fortunate individuals and fami-lies and presented to the CNMI Salva-tion Army.

Judicial Branch Notes from 2007

All motor vehicle and passport payments must now be paid at the cashier’s window located within the Guma Hustisia.

As of October 1, 2007, the Commonwealth Recorder’s Office no longer maintains original records of Commonwealth vital statistics such as birth and death certifi-cates.

Above: CNMI judiciary staff participating in the professional development training on customer ser-vice and work-place etiquette.

Naomi Lujan-Gonzales (Executive Director of the Law Revision Commission) and Bernie Sablan (Superior Court Clerk of Court) conducted a professional development training for CNMI judiciary staff in June 2007 on customer service and workplace etiquette.

Federal grants were secured to fund the fol-lowing Judicial Branch upgrades:

Supreme Court

Saipan Supreme Court Courtroom. CNMI Supreme Court justices. From left: Justice Alexandro C. Castro, Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan, and Justice John A. Manglona.

An Overview of the Supreme Court

The Commonwealth Supreme Court was established on May 8, 1989, with the passage of Public Law 6-25 (Commonwealth Judicial Reorganization Act). It gained constitutional status on November 1, 1997, when House Legislative Initiative 10-3 amended Article IV of the Northern Mariana Islands Constitu-tion, establishing the judiciary as a co-equal and independent branch of government.

The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-lands. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from final judgments and orders of the Com-monwealth Superior Court, and has all inherent powers, including the power to issue all writs necessary to complete the exercise of its duties and jurisdiction under the Commonwealth Constitution and laws.

The Chief Justice is empowered to promulgate rules governing civil and criminal procedures, judicial ethics, admission to and governance of the bar, and other matters of judicial administration.

The Commonwealth Supreme Court is made up of three Justices initially appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Commonwealth Senate. The term of office is eight years. A justice wishing to serve another term must receive voter approval in a retention election proposition presented in a general election ballot.

If a position is vacant or a justice must disqualify himself from hearing an appeal or other proceeding, the Chief Justice may designate an active or former justice or judge of the Commonwealth, any U.S. Ju-risdiction, or certain Micronesian jurisdictions to serve as a justice pro tem. In addition, the Chief Jus-tice may assign a special judge to sit in a proceeding or serve for a specified period of time.

Information Systems Unit

Year Civil Criminal Juvenile Small Claim Traffic

Original Action Disciplinary Total

2001 15 3 0 0 0 1 1 20 2002 38 14 0 0 0 1 1 54 2003 33 13 1 0 1 0 0 48 2004 21 11 0 0 1 2 0 35 2005 18 11 0 0 0 3 0 32 2006 30 4 0 0 0 2 0 36 2007 19 10 0 1 5 2 0 37

The Information Systems Unit (ISU) maintains and updates the entire computer network within the Judicial Branch and ensures that the integrity of the network remains sound and secure. The ISU constantly strives to keep pace with current technology, which in turn will enhance the quality of justice by improving the ability of the judicial branch to collect, process, and share information.

In 2007, the Information Systems Unit played a close and integral role in the installation and activation of the Judi-cial Branch’s new JustWare Case Management System, ensuring compatibility with the Judiciary’s internal net-work and that all judicial staff are properly trained. Justware replaces the Judicial Branch’s antiquated case man-agement system and improves information and data management for all cases and individuals that come into the CNMI’s court system.

Information Systems Unit personnel, in cooperation with representatives from other agencies within the justice and law enforcement community such as DPS, DOC, and the Attorney General’s Office, are nearing completion of the Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) network. Its purpose is to establish a coordinated information system among law enforcement agencies to collect, maintain, and disseminate criminal justice informa-tion. The CJIS network will ultimately provide a means to better information sharing among the justice and law enforcement communities through out the CNMI and beyond.

Year Civil Criminal Juvenile Family Traffic Original Action Disciplinary Total

2001 35 8 1 0 1 1 1 47 2002 17 19 0 0 0 5 1 42 2003 27 13 0 0 0 1 0 41

2004 29 3 0 0 0 3 0 35 2005 25 7 0 0 2 3 0 37 2006 34 12 0 0 4 3 0 53 2007 18 5 0 1 1 8 1 34

SUPREME COURT CASES FILED

SUPREME COURT CASES DISPOSED

Superior Court

Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja

Judge Juan T. Lizama Judge David A.Wiseman

Judge Kenneth L. Govendo Judge Ramona V. Manglona

Superior Court

The Office of the Clerk of Court accepts, records and maintains all official records for the Superior Court. The Office of the Clerk of Court also works closely with the Office of Adult Probation and the Family Court Division to deliver a wide array of services to the public.

Office of the Clerk of Court highlights for 2007: December 3, 2007: JustWare Court case management system replaces Evans case man-agement system in the Judicial Branch. November 27 to November 30, 2007: Superior Clerk of Court staff attended and com-pleted JustWare Court training with New Dawn Technologies . September 2007: The office of the Clerk of Court staff attended Mandatory Professional Development Training session customer service and related matters . The office of the Clerk of Court staff attended and completed training on Jury Trials and Court Rules and Procedures conducted by Associate Judge Ramona V. Manglona.

Year 2007 Criminal Clearance Traffic Clearance Traffic History

Others Total

Saipan 27238 8876 626 512 37252

Tinian 1773 462 1 9 2245

Rota 839 397 0 35 1271

Total 29850 9735 627 556 40768

The Office of the Clerk of Court provides the general public with various services, including processing traffic clearances, traffic histories, criminal clearances, bench warrants, as well as copying of related documents. Each service carries a fee, making it revenue generating. Below is the yearly tally of activities of our Customer Service Counter:

Published Opinions Below is a breakdown of published opinions for each Judge:

PUBLISHED OPINIONS

Judge Number of Published Opinions

Presiding Judge Naraja 0

Associate Judge Lizama 6

Associate Judge Wiseman 9

Associate Judge Manglona 8

Associate Judge Govendo 3

Appointment Of Counsel In CNMI Courts The following tables show the number of court appointed counsel for indigent defendants for 2007 in Criminal, Traffic, Juvenile and Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) cases in the CNMI:

2007 CRIMINAL TRAFFIC JUVENILE PATERNITY URESA

WARDSHIP DIVORCE

GUARDIAN ADLITEM

CIVIL COMMITMENT TOTAL

JAN. 0 0 0 0 0 0

FEB. 0 0 0 0 0 0

MAR. 3 1 1 2 0 7

APR. 22 2 1 1 0 26

MAY 17 0 9 5 0 31

JUNE 6 0 6 2 0 14

JULY 10 0 1 0 0 11

AUG 9 0 0 7 0 16

SEPT 2 0 0 1 0 3

OCT 10 2 9 0 0 21

NOV. 6 1 0 6 0 13

DEC. 6 0 0 4 0 10

TOTAL 91 6 27 28 0 152

2007 Criminal Cases Traffic Cases Juvenile Cases

Family Court Cases Total

Saipan 91 6 27 28 152

Tinian 0 0 0 0 0

Rota 0 0 0 0 0

Total 91 6 27 28 152

Cases filed, disposed, pending: 2004 - 2007

2004 2005 2006 2007 CRIMINAL Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 373 144 229 165 64 28 36 4 32 TINIAN 25 4 21 13 8 2 6 0 6 ROTA 9 2 7 2 5 1 4 0 4 Total 407 150 257 180 77 29 46 4 42 2005 2006 2007 CRIMINAL Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending

SAIPAN 363 170 193 129 64 17 47 TINIAN 23 15 8 6 2 1 1 ROTA 8 1 7 4 3 1 2 Total 394 186 208 139 69 19 50 2006 2007 CRIMINAL Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 255 103 152 105 47 TINIAN 14 5 9 8 1 ROTA 5 2 3 2 1 Total 274 110 164 115 49 2007 CRIMINAL Filed Disposed Pending SAIPAN 219 61 158 TINIAN 7 4 3 ROTA 4 0 4 Total 230 65 165

2004 2005 2006 2007 CIVIL Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 580 190 390 135 255 50 205 24 181 TINIAN 15 8 7 3 4 0 4 0 4 ROTA 10 3 7 3 4 0 4 1 3 Total 605 201 404 141 263 50 213 25 188 2005 2006 2007 CIVIL Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 556 168 388 168 220 37 183 TINIAN 3 1 2 0 2 1 1 ROTA 7 2 5 1 4 2 2 Total 566 171 395 169 226 40 186 2006 2007 CIVIL Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 615 234 381 153 228 TINIAN 7 3 4 1 3 ROTA 10 3 7 2 5 Total 632 240 392 156 236 2007 CIVIL Filed Disposed Pending SAIPAN 496 196 300 TINIAN 5 1 4 ROTA 8 7 1 Total 509 204 305

Cases filed, disposed, pending: 2004 - 2007 2004 2005 2006 2007

TRAFFIC Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 6915 5674 1241 418 823 91 732 45 687 TINIAN 265 229 36 11 25 1 24 7 17 ROTA 364 360 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 Total 7544 6263 1281 433 848 92 756 52 704

2005 2006 2007

TRAFFIC Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 4958 4160 798 488 310 59 251 TINIAN 225 207 18 15 3 0 3 ROTA 224 208 16 7 9 4 5 Total 5407 4575 832 510 322 63 259

2006 2007

TRAFFIC Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 5141 4206 935 364 571 TINIAN 154 150 4 1 3 ROTA 104 95 9 3 6 Total 5399 4451 948 368 580

2007

TRAFFIC Filed Disposed Pending SAIPAN 2674 1834 840 TINIAN 319 280 39 ROTA 98 91 7 Total 3091 2205 886

2004 2005 2006 2007 Small Claims Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending

SAIPAN 1206 591 615 232 383 2 381 4 377 TINIAN 94 26 68 35 33 0 33 0 33 ROTA 47 27 20 9 11 0 11 0 11 Total 1347 644 703 276 427 2 425 4 421

2005 2006 2007

Small Claims Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 935 517 418 171 247 19 228 TINIAN 41 24 17 3 14 3 11 ROTA 32 29 3 2 1 1 0 Total 1008 570 438 176 262 23 239

2006 2007

Small Claims Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 1102 489 613 243 370 TINIAN 42 14 28 9 19 ROTA 39 8 31 2 29 Total 1183 511 672 254 418

2007

Small Claims Filed Disposed Pending SAIPAN 930 367 563 TINIAN 63 35 28 ROTA 27 11 16 Total 1020 413 607

Number of Cases Filed and Disposed in the Superior Court 2000 – 2007

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES FILED

Civil Criminal Family court Small Traffic Total Year Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases

2000 610 578 623 1,543 12,235 15,589 2001 678 485 598 1,656 10,320 13,737 2002 690 419 674 1,574 8,391 11,748 2003 640 413 549 1,227 6,142 8,971 2004 605 407 612 1,347 7,544 10,515 2005 566 394 701 1,008 5,407 8,076 2006 632 274 762 1,183 5,399 8,250 2007 509 230 780 1,020 3,091 5,630

TOTAL 4,930 3,200 5,299 10,558 58,529 82,516

Total cases filed from 2000 to 2007 82,516

Total cases disposed from 2000 to 2007 71811 87.03%

Total cases pending 10,705 12.97%

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES DISPOSED

Civil Criminal Family court Small Traffic Total

Year Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases

2000 249 260 497 706 9960 11672

2001 488 529 487 1468 8980 11952

2002 500 325 712 1325 8200 11062

2003 416 345 495 965 5695 7916

2004 483 367 534 953 7141 9478

2005 429 500 623 914 5199 7665

2006 496 293 654 697 5174 7314

2007 446 204 656 703 2743 4752

TOTAL 3507 2823 4658 7731 53092 71811

Family Court Division

PRO SE SERVICES - User-friendly services for self-represented or pro se litigants. FAMILY COURT REFERRAL SERVICES - Assist clients with their referral orders as entered by the Judge. DNA PATERNITY SUPERVISION - Coordinate and oversee genetic testing for the speedy resolution of contested paternity cases. SEPARATING PARENTING PROGRAM - Programs intended to educate parents on the effects of divorce on children, coping with changes, and increase communication skills between parents and children. JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE - The Family Court Division is the lead coordinator in all Juve-nile Justice Task Force functions. The goal of the task force is to provide leadership, coordination, and resources to respond to juvenile delinquency and to prevent would-be offenders from entering the juvenile justice system. JUVENILE COURT TECHNICAL ASISTANCE - In 2007 the Family Court Division was granted funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Program to support and provide: (1) Technical Assistance and Training for Juvenile Judges and for Family Court Division staff; (2) enhance case man-agement system capacity to integrate with the Juvenile Justice Information System JUVENILE JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM - Consistent with the efforts of the Criminal Jus-tice Information System Planning Committee, a depository system of all juvenile court case information will be created. This will allow all service providers to effectively monitor court-ordered requirements and coordinate efforts to meet specific needs of juveniles. FAMILY VIOLENCE TASK FORCE (FVTF) - The Family Court Division is a member of the Fam-ily Violence Task Force. Created in 1995, the (FVTF) is a network of government and non government agencies that assists victims of domestic violence and sexual assault crimes. Member agencies include: Department of Pub-lic Health, Department of Public Safety, Criminal Justice Planning Agency, Office of Adult Probation, Commu-nity Guidance Center, Office of the Attorney General, Karidat Social Services, Women’s Affairs Office, Division of Youth Services, Multi-Disciplinary Response Team, and Ayuda Network, Inc. Members from each agency meet on a monthly basis to discuss activities and specific problem areas and successes of family violence services. The FCD Staff continues to be a very active member of this organization.

The Family Court Division (FCD) continues to maintain a staff of two full time personnel; the Family Court Manager and the Family Court Coordinator. Their responsibilities in-clude assisting the Family Court Judge in handling Family Court cases, assisting Pro Se, self-represented, litigants through the court system, coordinating efforts with various family and juvenile justice service organizations, maintaining assurance controls for en-forcement of orders. The FCD also oversees the following projects to ensure court ser-vices are easily accessible:

NORTHERN MARIANAS COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE - Created to promote, nourish and sustain a collective movement to end violence in the Northern Mariana Islands. COMPACT IMPACT STATISTICS SPECIAL PROJECT - A committee was created to undertake a physical inventory of court cases filed against litigants from the Freely Associated States of Microne-sia, Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The data was primarily used to cross check types of probation services, types of professional services afforded, and other related services that each litigant was pro-vided.

Disposition Of Family Court Cases 2004 - 2007

2004 2005 2006 2007 FCD Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 577 360 217 140 77 13 64 3 61 TINIAN 17 9 8 3 5 0 5 0 5 ROTA 18 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 Total 612 378 234 152 82 13 69 3 6 2005 2006 2007 FCD Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 662 365 297 157 140 18 122 TINIAN 23 19 4 2 2 0 2 ROTA 16 12 4 3 1 0 1 Total 701 396 305 162 143 18 125

2006 2007 FCD Filed Disposed Pending Disposed Pending SAIPAN 720 446 274 134 140 TINIAN 24 15 9 3 6 ROTA 18 11 7 4 3 TOTAL 762 472 290 141 149

2007 FCD Filed Disposed Pending SAIPAN 735 464 271 TINIAN 20 11 9 ROTA 25 14 11 TOTAL 780 489 291

The Table below compares FCD cases filed between 2003 and 2007. Divorce, family pro-tection (TRO), and juvenile filings show a pattern being high in numbers during the last six years for Saipan, Tinian and Rota. In addition, this compilation of data shows signifi-cant increases in the filings for Family Protection Cases (TRO), Guardianship, and Ward-ship Cases in 2007 as compared to the previous years.

Case Type

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Adoption 55 93 105 93 96

Alimony 0 0 0 2 0

Annulment 0 1 2 4 2

Change of Name 17 13 26 27 29

Civil Commitment 8 7 5 7 4

Divorce 155 172 169 233 223

Emancipation 0 1 0 0 0

Family Protection Act 153 167 169 172 198

Guardian Ad Litem 3 4 10 2 0

Guardianship 37 36 44 53 72

Paternity 60 62 60 54 56

Pet. To Correct Birth Certificate 0 0 0 2 0

UCCJA 2 1 2 0 1

URESA 15 8 34 27 29

Wardship 1 2 6 18 21

Juvenile 43 45 69 68 49

Total 549 612 701 762 780

549612

707 762 780

0100200300400500600700800

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Family Court Cases Filed 2003 - 2007

55

93105

94 96

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Adoption Cases Files 2003 - 2007

37 3644

53

72

01020304050607080

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Guardianship Cases Files 2003 - 2007

FCD Cases Filed 2003 — 2007

155172 169

232223

0

50

100

150

200

250

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Divorce Cases Filed 2003 - 2007

153167 169 172 198

0

50

100

150

200

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Family Protection Cases Filed 2003 - 2007

43 45

69 68

49

0102030

40506070

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Juvenile Cases Filed 2003 - 2007

CNMI Recorder’s Office

The Office of the Commonwealth Recorder was established within the Common-wealth Superior Court by Public Law 3-64 in 1983. The Office is mandated to record and maintain documents pertaining to official Commonwealth land regis-tration and other real estate, commercial, and personal property. It is also respon-sible to maintain original records of Commonwealth vital statistics, such as cer-tificates of birth, death, and marriage. The Commonwealth Recorder’s Office, as the central repository for all such records, provides public access to the informa-tion by indexing the same and providing duplication services pursuant to a fee schedule. The Office’s long-term goal is to meet daily information requests with-out exposing the original documents to the elements and normal wear-and-tear. In this endeavor, it has taken steps to maintain a micro-filming system and imple-mented a computer-aided indexing retrieval system.

The Office of the Vital Statistics at the Commonwealth Health Center adopted the “Model State Vital Statistics Act and Regulation Revision” which was signed into law. Therefore, the Commonwealth Recorder’s Office no longer maintains original records of Common-wealth vital statistics, such as birth and death certificates, as of October 01, 2007.

In addition to recording land documents and vital statistics, daily document handling includes the following:

• Filing Uniform Commercial Code Documents • Recording Court Orders and Miscellaneous Affidavits • Generating Computer Indexes • Microfilming Land Registration and Uniform Commercial code Docu-

ments • Microfilming birth, death, and marriage certificates

Marshal Service Unit

2007

Police or Traffic

Clearance

Court

Hearings

Court Filings

Drivers License

Vehicle or

Boat Registration

Firearms

Police Report

Passport

Other

Documents

TOTAL

October 2112 3091 224 305 1013 42 131 51 125 7094 November 2844 4219 269 850 1333 28 169 145 68 9925 December 3331 5018 161 940 1083 14 124 227 68 10966 TOTAL 8287 12328 654 2095 3429 84 424 423 261 27985

In October 2007, the Marshal Service Unit began recording all court patrons entering the Guma Hustisia. The following table depicts the data count per visitor:

During October 2007, the Marshal Service Unit participated in 40 hours of Law Enforce-ment Survival Training covering verbal judo, defensive tactics, and baton, handcuffing and pepper mace techniques.

The Marshal Service Unit is charged with providing security for the justices, judges, court staff and court patrons. The MSU provides physical and electronic security moni-toring of the Supreme Court courtroom, the five Superior Court courtrooms, and the in-terior and exterior premises of the Guma Hustisia.

Federal funds were secured for the purchase of equipment such as TASERS to improve the Marshal Service Unit’s ability to control any threatening or dangerous situation within the Guma Hustisia.

2007 Department of Public Safety

Department of Corrections

Individual Service/Others

TOTAL

January 102 25 4 131

February 24 25 10 59

March 260 34 1 295

April 45 22 8 75

May 165 69 5 239

June 25 51 1 77

July 30 20 0 50

August 133 65 0 198

September 31 25 0 56

October 49 24 0 73

November 66 68 0 134

December 10 44 0 54

TOTAL 940 472 29 1441

The MSU serves court orders to the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Corrections. The number of orders served during calendar year 2007 are as follows:

Office of Adult Probation

PROBATION SERVICE

CNMI Adult Probation Service encompasses law enforcement, social work, and community prevention oriented services for probation court ordered offenders, crime victims, and the community. Probation services consist of Pre-Trial Services; conduction of investigations, pre-trial assessments and supervision of Pre-Trial Release (Flight Risks) defendants, monitoring of house arrests for court ordered clients to Post-Sentence referred offenders for supervision, enforcement of court orders and court diversion program compliance. Adult Probation Officers are trained law enforcement officers authorized to carry firearms and make arrests, who also have background familiarity training in social work services. Their primary legal obligations are: 1. Public Safety (enforcement of court orders);

2. Court Report (investigations, assessments, and status reports submission); 3. Offenders’ Rehabilitation Needs.

PROBATION STATISTICS & SUMMARY AS the 2007 statistics demonstrate, despite the increased number of probationers the Office of Adult Probation has generated fewer reports and made less court appearances. The decrease in reports and court appearances per proba-tioner results from staffing shortages due to lack of funding. Despite the addition of six probation officers in mid FY2007, funded primarily through federal grants, the caseload per officer remains high. Recidivism rates are not calculated because recidivism parameters are not adequately defined at this time. Proba-tion does not currently have adequate resources to address recidivism. At best probation data from viewpoint presents pictures of input and output services by staff employees. It shows volume of reports been generated at 1,045 with an average of 87-88 reports generated per month; and court appear-ances of 1,987, indicating an average of 165-166 appearances in court per month with an assumption of 5-6 ap-pearances per day. Data interpretation can be interpreted the officers are doing more court services, and less time with offenders’ cognitive rehabilitation needs. This can be drawn from a simple comparison analysis of the finan-cial assessments vs. payments; and on the Alternative Sentence / Prevention & Referrals. The trend in probation is toward ‘Evidence-Based’ Programs, Services, and Staff Trainings to make probation more effective. Such trainings are readily available at the National Institute of Corrections, American Probation and Parole Associations, and National Administrations of Probation Executives. Since 2004, CNMI Adult Proba-tion has gradually initiated/incorporated Evidence-Based Trainings for its officers and programs. The Evidence-Based trainings provided to date are:

1. Management of Sex Offenders 2. Officer Safety 3. Civil Liabilities on Probation Officers and their Supervisors 4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

2007 STATISTIC ANNUAL REPORT

ACTIVITIES 2005 2006 2007 INVESTIGATION, MONITORING & SUPERVISION Closed Cases for the year 216 143 217 Referrals Carryover from Previous year 2,091 2,327 2,647 Criminal 180 202 142 Diversion 4 5 11 Traffic 272 261 300 Total New Referrals for the year 456 468 453 Active Persons on Probation 2,858 2,790 3,100 PRE-TRIAL SERVICE / INVESTIGATION REPORTS Indigent Assessment 54 33 33 Pre-Post Sentence Investigation 9 13 12 Restitution Assessment 12 14 13 Review Hearings Report (not generated) 1,225 967 Revocation Report (filed at the AGO) 22 20 20 Total Number of Reports 75 1,305 1,045 COURT APPEARANCES Indigent Assessment 0 0 0 Pre-Post Sentence Investigation Hearing (not generated) 18 17 Restitution Hearings (not generated) 1 24 Review Hearings 533 2,253 1,922 Revocation Hearings 31 29 24 Total Number of Appearances in Court 564 2,301 1,987 BENCH WARRANTS Bench Warrant Issued 60 30 89 Pending Bench Warrant 38 58 80 ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE / PREVENTION & REFERRALS CGC Counseling 85 (ordered 140) 63 (ordered 150) 138 CWS 47 (ordered 90) 76 (ordered 103) 135 Probation Orientation 249 314 215 Crime Prevention 30 39 34 Common Sense Parenting Class 12 ISP 261 153 278 Total Referrals 645 800 COLLATERAL & COURTESY INVESTIGATION & SUPERVISION (To & From) Collateral Courtesy Investigation 7 ` 3 6 Courtesy Supervision 0 2 1 Military Request (Probationer’s Record) 2 Total Number of Collateral & Courtesy Services 7 5 9 FINANCIAL COLLECTIONS Fines $405,493.00 $42,185.00 $40,016.50 Restitution $13,530.51 $16,132.95 $17,473.18 Probation Fees $38,194.00 $37,679.00 $37,432.50 Court Fees $12,695.00 $2,560.00 $17,383.50 Total Collection $469,912.00 $98,661.95 $109,494.65

Law Revision Commission

W orking with the Commonwealth Law Revision Commission has been a challenging, rewarding, and overall enjoyable experience. Since the Law Revision Commission’s transfer to the judiciary in 1993 and the ex-

pansion of its duties, the Commission finally fulfilled all three of its statutory mandates to produce the three major legal publications of the CNMI when it released the first-ever Northern Mariana Islands Administrative Code in March 2006. In 2007, the Commission completed updates to the hard-bound formats of the Commonwealth Code (which contains permanent public and local laws) and the Northern Mariana Islands Administrative Code (which contains rules and regulations), and has made readily available current and past CNMI Supreme Court and CNMI Superior Court slip opinions and a wealth of other information on its website at www.cnmilaw.org.

T he Commission has been hard at work in 2007 on the electronic format of its legal publications on a search-able CD-ROM which is scheduled to be available to the public in June 2008. This upcoming Folios CD-ROM

will contain not only the Commonwealth Code, all six volumes of the N.M.I. Reporter series, and CNMI Supreme and Superior Court slip opinions, but will now also include the Administrative Code and all three volumes of the Commonwealth Reporter series. All laws will be through August 31, 2007. This much anticipated 2007 CNMI Laws CD-ROM is sure to be a gold mine of information and will make researching and accessing CNMI laws much more convenient.

A ll of the accomplishments the Commission has made in producing the various legal resources for the CNMI has placed the Commission as one of the front-runners in its field in the Micronesian and Pacific region. The

Commission’s achievements could not have been done without the continued funding by the Legislature, support of the Commission’s board members (2007 Commissioners: Chief Justice Miguel Demapan (Chair), Senator Pa-terno Hocog, Congresswoman Jacinta Kaipat, Attorney General Matthew Gregory, and Attorney Bruce Mailman), and most importantly, the dedicated, steadfast, and indelible teamwork of the Commission’s staff of past and pre-sent. Through the years, I have been truly blessed with extremely competent, professional, and hard-working staff who have been the real backbone and driving force of the Commission.

W ork for the Commission is never-ending since books and CD-ROMs by their very nature become outdated once new laws are created. As long as legislation continues to be enacted, courts continue to render deci-

sions, and agencies continue to promulgate regulations, keeping the present publications up-to-date is a full-time commitment. Hindsight and experience prompted the Commission’s foresight to develop an efficient system for keeping all of its legal publications up-to-date and in a most cost-efficient manner.

D espite a busy schedule, the Commission still found time in 2007 to conduct free trainings on legal research and professional development, organize a charity drive, improve its website, and create a variety of other

useful legal resource tools. But what is next . . . The Commission’s work on producing annual updates to the statu-tory and regulatory codes continues and is an on-going process; work on volume 7 of the N.M.I. Reporter series is being done; a comprehensive/combined digest of court decisions which will include volumes 1 through 3 of the Commonwealth Reporter series and volumes 1 through 6 of the NMI Reporter series is being done and is sched-uled to be completed in August 2008 (this combined digest will basically represent the spectrum of CNMI case law with precedence from 1979 through the end of 2003, and will eliminate the current practice of having to consult four separate decision digests); constant improvements to the contents and accessibility to its website are being made; and as mentioned above, final work on the upcoming 2007 CNMI Laws Folio CD is being done for the CD’s release in June 2008. And the list of projects goes on.

Sincerely, Naomi E. Lujan-Gonzales,

Executive Director

A message from the Law Revision Commission:

The Commonwealth Law Revision Commission is an independent judiciary agency that is responsible for compiling, editing, and codifying the various laws of the CNMI into an organized system with the mission of making them available to the public. The Commission was changed in 1983 from a temporary to a permanent organization that was first estab-lished to compile and publish Commonwealth statutes and recommend legislation. In 1993, the Commis-sion’s mandated duties were expanded when it was reorganized and transferred from the legislative branch to the judicial branch. The office, as we know it today, was created by 1 CMC § 3801et seq. The Commonwealth Law Revision Commission is composed of a board and an office. The administrative and daily operations are carried out by the Commission office. The Commission’s organic act mandates that “. . . the Commission shall be responsible for codifying Com-monwealth laws of a permanent nature and publishing, in a reporter system, decisions of the Common-wealth judiciary . . . [and to] produce, publish, and periodically revise a Commonwealth Administrative Code consisting of Commonwealth administrative rules.” 1 CMC § 3803(b) and (c). The Commission’s work of compiling, editing, and codifying the CNMI’s various statutes, judicial opinions, and regulations into an organized system and providing access to them are vital for the existence of a de-mocratic society and its success. Access to laws should be a right, not a luxury. Because laws impact our lives everyday, it is essential that Commonwealth residents and people who do business with the Commonwealth know and have simple and timely access to legislations, judicial rulings, and regulations. Having the CNMI’s laws compiled, updated, and available in an organized system also informs potential investors of the CNMI’s sophistication and provides assurance that their rights will not be trampled. The Commission’s work is undoubtedly an invaluable and critical necessity for the Common-wealth and its people.

In March 2007, the Commis-sion released the update sup-plement to the paper format of the Commonwealth Code, which is a five-volume statu-tory code that contains all permanent CNMI public and local laws. This cumulative pocket-part supplement brought the Code current through December 31, 2006; update supplements are re-leased annually. Moreover, a summary update table of changes within the Common-wealth Code is published every quarter and is available on the Commission’s website free-of-charge.

The release of the first-ever Northern Mariana Islands Administrative Code (“NMIAC”) in March 2006 represented a milestone in the CNMI’s history and a huge improvement in the accessibility of Commonwealth ad-ministrative law. An update supplement to the NMIAC was completed in December 2007, bringing the Administrative Code current through August 2007. As with the statutory code, the Administrative Code’s update supplements are produced entirely in-office and on-demand which cuts costs and makes keeping both Codes current simpler. A summary update table of regulatory activity is pub-lished monthly and is accessible free-of-charge on the Commission’s website. The Northern Mariana Islands Reporter series, which contains the deci-sions of the CNMI Supreme Court, currently spans six volumes and covers decisions through 2003. Slip opinions to the present are readily accessible on the Commission’s website free-of-charge and are searchable using the built-in search engine on the home page. The Commission has been working on a cumulative digest of decisions that will merge the Commonwealth Reporter digest and the N.M.I. Reporter digests into one comprehensive digest encom-passing the scope of CNMI case law with precedential value. The completion date of this combined digest is August 2008. In August 2007, the Commission finalized a contract with a company to pro-duce a comprehensive and searchable CD-ROM containing all of the above-mentioned legal publications, plus the three-volumes of the Commonwealth Reporter series, using the Folios platform. The Commission focused much of their work and resources in 2007 towards completing the updates for this highly anticipated CD. This 2007 CNMI Laws Folio CD, which will contain all statutes, court decisions, and regulations through August 31, 2007, will be available in June 2008.

In March 2007, the Law Revision Commission (on behalf of the CNMI Supreme Court) and the CNMI Superior Court were participating members at the 2007 Pacific Judicial Conference Court Administrator Conference. The purpose of the conference was to bridge learning gaps through the exchange of ideas between other Pacific jurisdictions and through specific trainings offered by conference coordinators.

The Commission spearheaded the first training for judiciary staff on adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation (“CPR”) and first-aid. In September 2007, eight judiciary personnel were trained by the NMI Chapter of the American Red Cross and received official certification in adult CPR and first-aid.

Above: Judiciary staff engaging in a hands-on exercise in adult CPR.

Above from left: Judiciary staff who received certifica-tion in adult CPR and first-aid - Jesus Santos, Gideon Kikku, Julie Ilo, John Aguon (instructor), Albert Hicking, Steve Cabrera, Luis Villagomez, Naomi Lujan-Gonzales, and Jeremy Sasamoto.

LRC staff from the left: Albert A. Hicking, Naomi E. Lujan-Gonzales, Janet R. Labios, and Heather L. Kennedy.