SPECIAL prosecutor James Robert Kingman has filed an objection to the appointment of Guam Judge Arthur Barcinas as judge pro tempore in the misconduct in office case filed by the Office of the Attorney General against former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres pertaining to first-class travel.
At the same time, Kingman is requesting Judge Barcinas to make a ruling and allow the prosecution to amend the charges against Torres.
In his motion for leave to amend the information, Kingman has requested to reinclude the initially charged Count XIV: Contempt.
Kingman added: “The Commonwealth further seeks to amend this information by including counts XV-XLI in the proposed amended information.
“These counts are within the scope of the initial criminal referral to the Attorney General’s Office and, thus, within the pro hac vice admission of the Special Prosecutor. They represent a continued course of conduct by the defendant and include counts only derived from evidence already tendered to defendant.”
He also said that the Commonwealth is objecting to the appointment of Judge Barcinas because of the judge’s other duties.
In a separate notice of objection to the clerk of court of the CNMI Superior Court, Kingman said, “Judge Barcinas is serving as a Justice Pro Tempore in Supreme Court No. 2022-SCC-007-CIV, Ralph DLG Torres v. House Standing Committee on Judiciary & Governmental Operations.”
Kingman said the defendant in the present criminal case “is plaintiff-appellant in the appellate case. The controversy in question arises from the same investigation that originated in the charges in the criminal case. The criminal case here originated with a referral based on the investigation carried out by defendant-appellee that also gave rise to the case on appeal. Count XIV of the criminal case, Contempt, is the issue at heart of the criminal case.”
Kingman added, “It is our position that, with gratitude to Judge Barcinas for being willing to serve when so many other members of the judiciary are unavailable, it is not in the best interest of justice for a judge to serve simultaneously on two levels on the same legal issue in controversy.”
Last year, the CNMI Supreme Court appointed Judge Alberto Tolentino, who is also from Guam, as judge pro tempore after CNMI Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja and the other associate judges of the local trial court recused themselves from the case.
On April 19, 2023, however, Judge Tolentino recused himself from the case due to health reasons. The CNMI Supreme Court then appointed Judge Barcinas to preside over the case.
On April 8, 2022, the CNMI Office of the Attorney General filed a criminal case against Torres, alleging 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.
In September 2022, Judge Tolentino dismissed without prejudice the contempt charge against Torres. The judge found “impermissible exposure to privileged and confidential information that prevents [lead prosecutor J. Robert] Glass from prosecuting [the defendant] for Count XIV (Contempt).”
Without prejudice means it can be refiled.
On Monday, May 8, 2023, the parties held a pretrial conference and discussed the possibility of moving the trial date, June 5, 2023, to a later date.
The former governor is represented by attorneys Viola Alepuyo, Victorino DLG Torres, Matthew Holley and Anthony Aguon.
