Lilian A. Tenorio
ATTORNEY Robert T. Torres on Monday expressed his support for the nomination of Deputy Attorney General Lilian A. Tenorio as Superior Court associate judge.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios submitted Tenorio’s nomination to the Senate on Nov. 22, 2023.
In his letter to the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations, Torres said he had worked with Tenorio in private practice.
He said he believes that the people of the CNMI “will be well-served” by Tenorio on the bench, “given her competence and commitment to the rule of law and equal access to justice in our courts.”
In his experience working with Tenorio, Torres said, “she maintains the highest standard of professionalism and sets a standard of excellence and competence for herself at all times. She approaches every issue, case or litigation with careful review.”
Torres also emphasized the importance of judicial temperament. Oftentimes, he said, the court may get frustrated or lose patience with lawyers and litigants. “Of more concern is the lack of respect that counsel may often experience with jurists who may, on occasion, lack the temperament or lose the patience required of a fact-finder presiding over the case,” he added.
He said he has interacted with Tenorio on the opposite side of many cases. On those occasions, he said, he has “often registered my blunt views of her agency-client or office and its untenable position.” At all times, he added, Tenorio has “responded with firm disagreement, tempered respect and appropriate humor.”
When opposing counsel has this personality in practice and self-control, as he has experienced with Tenorio, then, “I have every reason to believe that this will be her personality and style on the bench,” Torres said.
It is also his view that ascending to the Superior Court bench requires great personal sacrifice on the part of a nominee.
“When one becomes a judge, she often cannot remove the judicial robe and must limit herself on occasions from friends and family due to her work. For a sociable person who finds great comfort in the presence and support of such family and friends, [a judicial] nomination comes with that sacrifice….,” Torres said.
He added that accepting the nomination and becoming a Superior Court judge is “a noble calling where one must give of herself for the greater good of the Commonwealth and its people through judicial service.”
In this respect, he said, Tenorio is prepared and “it is time for her to answer the call to serve the people as the next Superior Court judge.”
