The high court also requested Chief Prosecutor Michael Ernest attend the hearing.
“This matter is of serious importance to the criminal division of the Office of the Attorney General, and the court believes that the commonwealth’s interest would be best served if Chief Prosecutor Ernest were present,” stated the three-page order denying motion for extension of time to file response brief and order to show cause.
Buckingham said he will be attending tomorrow’s hearing.
Ernest had yet to reply to the inquiries of this reporter.
“Attorney General Buckingham was served with both the briefing schedule and Sebuu’s brief, and thus knew or should have known of the filing schedule,” said the high court, adding that a written response from the AG’s office was due on or before July 15.
Simon Sebuu has appealed his convictions for theft and criminal mischief.
In an order denying the AGO’s request, the Supreme Court said: “The court is mindful that [slip opinion on June 8, 2011 for Commonwealth v. Owens, 2001 MP6] was issued before the [the AGO] moved to file a late brief in this case. We state plainly that the court would have denied the [AGO’s] motion to file a late brief regardless of Owens, given the gravity of the [AGO’s] failure to timely fine in this instance.”
Moreover, the Supreme Court said it “recognizes the danger inherent in merely barring the [AGO] from filing a brief in cases where there is no cross-appeal. Specifically, this rewards the [AGO’s] failure to file a brief by relieving the [AGO] of burden to file a brief. To stave off this undesirable outcome, the court deems further action necessary in the form of an order to show cause.”
The Supreme Court ruled that the AGO’s motion to file a late brief is “highly disfavored” pursuant to CNMI Supreme Court Rule 31-1(b), “and the facts surrounding the [AGO’s] failure to file cannot overcome this standard.”
The Supreme Court noted that Sebuu timely filed his opening brief on April 11, 2011, and Buckingham “received service of all documents” in this case commencing with the court’s briefing schedule issued on July 23, 2010.
In its footnote, the Supreme Court said Assistant Attorneys General Anne-Marie Roy and Melissa Simms previously represented the AGO, “but these attorneys did not substitute out of the case prior to leaving Saipan.”
The AGO did not formally substitute counsel until June 6, 2011, the Supreme Court said.
