THE local Supreme Court has denied the Office of the Attorney General’s request to direct the lower court to continue the sentencing of Jiang Hong Sheng who has already fled the CNMI.
The justices, in their issued opinion, held that Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo did not err in not sentencing Jiang Hong Sheng in absentia.
Chief Justice Alexandro Castro, Justice John Manglona and Justice Perry Inos Sr. issued the ruling on Friday.
“The case before us is rare, as an unreasonable delay is usually presented by the defendant rather than the Commonwealth,” the justices said in denying the Office of the AG’s petition for a writ of mandamus.
In response to the ruling, Chief Prosecutor John Bradley said: “The Supreme Court ruled that the current version of the rules of criminal procedure do not authorize sentencing in absentia, even though federal rules, which are the source for CNMI rules, have been modernized to allow for it.”
Bradley added, “We can only hope that the Supreme Court or the Legislature will move with great speed to update the law to match the modern approach to proceeding with sentencing for criminals that deliberately flee the jurisdiction after conviction.”
Bradley said “because of the outdated CNMI Rules of Criminal Procedure, victims of crimes are left unprotected. Despite the verdict of a jury against a violent criminal, the trial court is unable to proceed to sentence the defendant and order restitution. As the years go by, evidence is lost, witnesses forget, lawyers retire and justice is delayed This is a problem with an easy solution. Just amend the rule. The federal rule was updated over 25 years ago. It’s time to update the CNMI rule.”
Judge Govendo issued a sentencing schedule for the case on March 12, 2021, but later rescinded it following an order from the CNMI Supreme Court staying the proceedings.
On Jan. 29, 2021, the AG’s office filed an application for writ of mandamus seeking to have Judge Govendo complete the sentencing of Jiang Hong Sheng in absentia.
According to the AG’s office, the trial court “clearly erred when it refused to sentence Jiang Hong Sheng in absentia and refused to rule on the Commonwealth’s motion for sentencing defendant in absentia.”
A jury trial was held for the defendant on May 14-21, 2018. He was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.
The case stemmed from an apartment rental dispute between the defendant and another person that turned violent.
Sentencing was set for Nov. 27, 2018 but because of the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Yutu on Oct. 24-25, 2018, and the time it took for the Office of Adult Probation to prepare the pre-investigation report, sentencing was reset for March 26, 2019.
Prior to trial and during the pendency between conviction and sentencing, the defendant was released on a cash bail of $6,250.
After he failed to appear for the March 26, 2019 sentencing hearing, a bench warrant was issued, and his cash bail was forfeited.
