SUPERIOR Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja on Friday rescheduled Shayne Villanueva’s bench trial to Dec. 3, 2024. It was originally set for Nov. 6, 2024.
Judge Naraja also ordered the parties to file a brief on whether he has to recuse himself from the case.
Earlier, Villanueva, through attorney Keith Chambers, raised concerns of impartiality because of the familial relationship between the judge and his nephew, Rep. Ralph Naraja Yumul. Yumul’s mother is the judge’s sister.
Yumul chairs the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance and Disaster-Related Funding before which Villanueva appeared on March 5, 2024.
Villanueva was charged with contempt of legislature after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right when asked by the House committee questions about BOOST.
BOOST stands for “Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together,” a $17 million federally funded program.
Villanueva is the owner of Roil Soil Marketing, which the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres contracted to help implement BOOST in 2022.
In a six-page order on Nov. 1, Judge Naraja said, “Recusal is not warranted at this time.”
“Representative Yumul stands in a third-degree relationship to the judge under the civil law calculation method. The path of relation moves from the judge upward to his parents (one degree), then downward to his sister (second degree), and finally to her son (third degree). This precise calculation, when viewed against the Commonwealth statute’s second-degree threshold — in 1 CMC § 3308(b)(5)(iv), leads to the conclusion that automatic recusal is not required. Therefore, Representative Yumul’s third-degree relationship to the judge does not mandate automatic recusal under 1 CMC § 3308(b)(5)(iv),” stated the judge’s order.
“Even under the broader federal standard, Representative Yumul would not qualify as a ‘material witness,’ ” the judge added.
“Representative Yumul’s role was strictly limited to his capacity as chairman of the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance and Disaster-Related Funding during the March 5, 2024, hearing. His actions, including questioning defendant’s willingness to testify and cautioning his counsel about potential contempt, were purely procedural and part of his official legislative responsibilities. The fact that defendant invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to Representative Yumul’s questions does not elevate Representative Yumul’s role to that of a material witness, as his involvement pertained solely to procedural matters rather than substantive testimony,” the judge said.
“Thus, Representative Yumul’s limited, public, and procedural involvement does not satisfy the threshold for disqualification under either 1 CMC § 3308 or 28 U.S.C. § 455. A reasonable person with knowledge of all facts would not question the judge’s impartiality, given that Representative Yumul’s potential testimony concerns only his official duties, which are matters of public record,” the judge said.
However, he added, in “the interest of justice, this court, having taken all precautionary measures, is allowing defendant to present [his] concerns through a written motion supported by a memorandum of law. As such, defendant shall file its motion and brief and the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall file its opposition,” the judge stated.
He ordered the parties to file their briefs on Nov. 12 and arguments on Nov. 18. He scheduled a motion hearing for Dec. 2.
On Aug. 28, 2024, Judge Naraja denied the defense motion to dismiss the contempt of Legislature case against Villanueva.
The following month, Chambers requested the court to reconsider its ruling, saying that his client was being investigated prior to the March 5, 2024 legislative hearing.
On Oct. 25, Judge Naraja denied the defense’s request to reconsider its ruling.
