ASSISTANT Attorney General James Robert Kingman has objected to the appointment of Guam’s Arthur Barcinas as judge pro tempore in the refiled contempt case against former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.
Kingman said his objection is based on the grounds of efficient judicial administration.
“The Judiciary of Guam in general and Judge Barcinas in particular have demonstrated a commendable willingness to assist the Commonwealth with its needs for the administration of justice,” Kingman said. “This is neither the first nor last time such service will be called upon and appreciated. However, it has become apparent that the reliance on Judge Barcinas has created a workload that procedurally and substantively has diminished the effective administration of justice and the courts.”
According to Kingman, “The present criminal case is the fourth case assigned to Judge Barcinas involving the investigation, and prosecution of defendant’s alleged wrongdoing in office and legal obligations. Now, defendant’s case challenging the Commonwealth’s contract with Kingman is also on Judge Barcinas’s civil docket. These cases with overlapping issues of fact and law should not be decided with different standards or at different levels in different proceedings in front of the same decider.”
A pending 13-count charge is already assigned to Judge Barcinas, Kingman said.
“Since his assignment, the progress of this case has slowed dramatically,” Kingman added.
“The pending motions and hearings have been operating without scheduling orders necessary for the fair and efficient administration of justice. Subsequent cases — the nature of which the court and defendant are aware due to prior motions — will create the same spate of recusals by the members of the CNMI judiciary. Once again, there will likely be a judge pro tempore facing the new allegations,” Kingman said.
As to the timing of his objection to the appointment of Judge Barcinas, Kingman said, “Though the [appointment) order was signed on November 7th, the Clerk’s stamp and service is for November 8th.”
He said he contacted the Clerk of Court on Nov. 15 and notified the clerk that there was an objection forthcoming. He said he also requested the roster of special judges and the relevant notices described in 1CMC §3305 – Appointment of Special Judges.
Kingman also mentioned that “the Judiciary of Guam has not provided information related to a relevant judicial disciplinary proceeding regarding Judge Barcinas and the effect of an alleged pattern of delay had on the courts.”
“Undoubtedly,” Kingman added, “defendant will claim that this objection is untimely; the timeliness rules that they ask to have applied shift according to what they are requesting and carry no internal logic.”
Kingman said the defense “has made it clear that they will continue to challenge Kingman’s presence in the CNMI, despite having requested a Special Prosecutor. The myriad spurious motions and frivolous cases are falling to Judge Barcinas, as they will continue to. There should be a separation of these cases to prevent conflicts of interest and the effective administration of the courts.”
The original case against Torres was filed by the Office of the AG on April 8, 2022. It alleged 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft relating to the issuance of airline tickets for business class, first class, or other premium class travel for himself and/or Diann T. Torres, his wife.
The case also alleged one count of contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a legislative subpoena.
The former governor has denied the charges.
On Aug. 23, 2022, Judge Pro Tem Alberto Tolentino dismissed without prejudice the contempt charge against Torres. Without prejudice means that the charge can be refiled.
On Oct. 26, 2023, Kingman refiled the charges of contempt and misconduct in public office against Torres, who was summoned to appear before a judge on Dec. 18, 2023.
