Sen. Joseph M. Mendiola, Covenant-Tinian, said their island has not been represented in the local judicial system despite their growing pool of attorneys.
“I urge you to seriously consider appointing the next judge from among our Tinian pool of qualified attorneys,” he said in a letter to Fitial. “In the past, Tinian has not had any local attorneys and perhaps that had been the reason why we have not had a judge appointed who was from Tinian.”
Lizama retired from the bench last month and is one of the candidates for the historic CNMI congressional election in November.
Mendiola said over the past 10 years, Tinian gained four new lawyers who are “diligent and committed in ensuring that our people are no longer under-represented in the legal community.”
“The four attorneys from our community include Ms. Lucia Blanco-Maratita, Mr. Ramon K. Quichocho, Mr. Joey Patrick San Nicolas and Ms. Janet H. King,” said Mendiola.
“These individuals possess the qualifications, abilities, and qualities to become the next commonwealth Superior Court judge; thus, I urge you to include them in your consideration for the next judgeship appointment,” he added.
Quichocho is the former highly paid private counsel for the defunct Marianas Public Lands Authority.
King is an assistant public defender while the two other Tinian attorneys are engaged in private practice.
