On Friday, Kent Robinson denied the charges in the superseding indictment against him: making and uttering of a fictitious obligation, and mail fraud.
Robinson, currently out on bail, appeared before Designated Judge David A. Wiseman with court-appointed attorney Bruce Berline.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric O’Malley and Gerald Henderson are the prosecutors.
According to the superseding indictment, Robinson made a counterfeited and forged document — a secured funding and offset bond — purportedly registered with the U.S. Department of Treasury on Dec. 19, 2008, and sent to the CNMI through interstate commercial carrier.
It was Designated Judge Mark W. Bennett of the Northern District of Iowa who granted Robinson’s motion for change of venue.
In his 15-page written order, Bennett took into consideration the 1) location of the defendant, 2) location of witnesses, 3) location of events likely to be in issue, 4) location of documents and records, 5) disruption of the defendant’s business, 6) expenses to the parties, 7) location of counsel, 8) relative accessibility of place of trial, 9) docket conditions of each district, and 10) special elements.
The 45-year-old Robinson filed his motion for change of venue, saying that the current venue is “prejudiced and inconvenient” for him and the witnesses in the case.
Bennett ruled that upon weighing the 10 factors, “the court concludes that four of the 10 (location of the defendant, location of witnesses, expenses to the parties, and relative accessibility of place of trial) support transfer.”
Four other factors (location of documents and records, disruption of Robinson’s business, location of counsel, and docket condition) “weigh against transfer.”
The remaining two factors (location of events likely to be at issue and special elements) “provide no support for either position.”
Although it might be appealing to tally the result, Bennett said, federal rules on criminal procedure “require a more exacting balance.”
Bennett said “in particular, the court finds that the location of [Robinson] and the witnesses, and the expense to the parties all weigh substantially in favor of transferring the case to the District of Columbia.”
“On the other hand, three of the factors against transfer, location of counsel, location of documents and records, and disruption of defendant’s business, do so only weakly,” Bennett said.
On Jan. 26, 2010, Robinson was arrested in Washington, D.C., and after several court hearings, a judge from the District of Columbia ordered Robinson’s removal to the Northern Marianas.
In another motion, Robinson is asking the federal court for transportation and subsistence expenses.
Since his arrival here more than four months ago, Robinson told the court that he has no income or support other than minimal support that he receives from his family members for food and shelter.
“Without my families’ assistance, I would not be able to survive on Saipan,” Robinson stated in his motion.
He noted that the “cheapest” one-way ticket from Saipan to Washington, D.C. costs over $1,300.
“I cannot afford the price of such a ticket. Nor can I afford to purchase food or pay for shelter should such need arise during the trip,” Robinson added.
“Without assistance from the [U.S.] government, I do not have any financial resources to travel from Saipan to Washington, D.C. and appear before the District Court for the District of Columbia, should I be so ordered to do so by this court,” Robinson said.
