The U.S. Marshals Service and the court security officers at the Horiguchi Bldg. where the federal court is located, also testified that all prospective jurors had to be accommodated first in the courtroom for jury selection, and members of the public who wanted to witness the trial had to wait for available seats before they could enter.
Mateo Santos, a brother of the former Commerce secretary, told the court that he saw several empty seats in the courtroom.
He was a prospective juror but was disqualified.
Yesterday, visiting Judge Mark W. Bennett of the Northern District of Iowa conducted the evidentiary hearing on the motion of Villagomez and the Santos couple to set the record straight regarding the supposed exclusion of the public during the jury selection.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. O’Malley is the prosecutor, while the defense counsels are Leilani Lujan, Victorino Torres, and Ramon Quichocho.
Defense counsels tried to focus on the courtroom’s seating capacity, seating arrangement, and other policies, but government witnesses reiterated that the public was not barred, and when the courtroom was already packed, the public had to wait for available seats.
Munson, who retired last February after serving more than 20 years on the NMI bench, testified via videoconference from the states.
Munson reiterated that it was his policy to open the court to the public, and he never issued any directive to not allow anyone from entering the courtroom.
“[Court] trials are for the public. The public is free to come. There is no exclusion in the courtroom,” Munson said, recalling that the number of the prospective jurors for the Villagomez trial was the “biggest” he handled in over two decades on Saipan.
Although students from Northern Marianas College had reserved seats upon the request of their instructor Sam McPhetres so they could observe the proceedings, Munson said he did not exclude other members of the public from occupying seats.
He said he also didn’t order a seating arrangement in his courtroom.
Villagomez and the Santos couple were convicted of bribery, theft and wire fraud in April 2009.
They have appealed their conviction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Villagomez, 48, is serving his sentence of seven years and three months in Tucson, Arizona.
Mrs. Santos, 51, and her 49-year-old husband each received a sentence of six years and six months in prison.
She is an inmate in Dublin, California while her husband is in jail in Atwater, also in California.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Wolfgang Calvert, who also testified via videoconference, said his office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office had security concerns because someone from the public at that time was “attempting to contact prospective jurors.”
It is the policy of the U.S. Marshals Service for prospective jurors, or paneled jurors, to not have any contact with the public, he said.
Calvert said extra chairs were also provided to accommodate the people in the courtroom.
He said there were two pews reserved for the public, but were filled during the two-day jury selection.
Lead Court Security Officer Edwin Atalig, Court Security Officer Francisco Babauta, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Anthony Punzalan, also testified via videoconference, and told the court there was no directive to exclude the public from the court proceedings.
The evidentiary hearing will continue today.
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