By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
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SUPERIOR Court Judge Pro Tempore Arthur Barcinas has scheduled a hearing in the criminal case against former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, who faces charges of misconduct in public office, theft of government funds through premium-class airline travel, and contempt of the Legislature for failing to comply with a subpoena.
In a notice issued Monday, Judge Barcinas set a status hearing and scheduling conference for Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.
The hearing follows the disqualification of the previous prosecutors assigned to the case. Assistant Attorney General David Karch has now filed a notice of appearance to represent the CNMI government. The case will not be handled by Olga Kelley, head of the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Task Force, which investigates white-collar crimes, government corruption, and financial misconduct.
In August, the CNMI Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court to resume prosecution and allow for the appointment of a new prosecutor.
In two opinions issued on Aug. 22, 2025, the high court affirmed the disqualification of Assistant Attorney General James R. Kingman and Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr., but reversed the trial court’s decision to disqualify the entire Office of the Attorney General from prosecuting the case.
The justices ruled that the Rules of Professional Conduct cannot be used to vicariously disqualify the entire OAG when conflicts have been properly screened.
In upholding the removal of Kingman and Glass, the high court emphasized that their continued involvement “would appear improper and could erode public confidence.”
The ruling underscored the OAG’s constitutional role as the Commonwealth’s legal officer and emphasized that the separation of powers requires judicial review before trial proceedings resume.
“Even if disqualification of the entire office was warranted, the [trial] court erred in directing the executive branch to continue the prosecution itself, without the Attorney General,” the justices wrote. “Deference to the executive branch regarding appointment of a special prosecutor is not contemplated by the NMI Constitution.”
They further clarified that if the OAG were disqualified, the attorney general would retain the authority to appoint a special prosecutor.
“Under the Constitution and Commonwealth Code, the Attorney General retains the power to appoint prosecutors. Such appointments are administrative tasks that do not inherently breach any conflict screening wall,” the high court stated.
Following the ruling, one of Torres’ attorneys, Joaquin DLG Torres, issued the following statement:
“We are very pleased with this result. The Court recognized that Attorney General Manibusan, Chief Solicitor Glass, and Special Prosecutor Kingman crossed ethical lines and ordered their disqualification. Even though the whole office was not removed, the fact that its leader, his top deputy, and the prosecutor are barred reflects the seriousness of their violations of professional responsibility.”
Background
In December 2021, then-Gov. Torres, a Republican, was found in contempt by a Democrat-Independent-led House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee for refusing to appear before a panel investigating his public expenditures.
On April 8, 2022, the OAG charged Torres with 12 counts of misconduct in public office, one count of theft related to premium-class travel for himself and his wife, Diann T. Torres, and one count of contempt for failing to comply with a legislative subpoena.
The former governor has denied the charges.
On Aug. 23, 2022, Judge Pro Tempore Alberto Tolentino dismissed the contempt charge without prejudice, citing that Glass had been exposed to privileged information related to the former governor’s nonappearance.
In July 2024, Judge Barcinas granted the defense’s motion to reconsider and ordered the OAG’s withdrawal from Case No. 22-0050-CR due to a conflict of interest. However, he declined to appoint a new special prosecutor, deferring that responsibility to the executive branch.
Judge Barcinas also disqualified the OAG and Kingman from prosecuting a related case (23-0127-CR) involving refiled charges of contempt and misconduct.
The OAG, through Glass, appealed the disqualification, arguing that the blanket removal violated due process and misapplied professional conduct rules.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.