SPECIAL Prosecutor James Robert Kingman has refiled the contempt charge against former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for failing to comply with a legislative subpoena on Dec. 10, 2021.
In the new case filed in Superior Court on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, Kingman also charged Torres with misconduct in public office for committing “an illegal act under color of office, to wit: [he] failed to appear in compliance with a subpoena….”
According to the information, failure to appear in compliance with a subpoena is in violation of 1 CMC § 1306(a)(1) and made punishable by 1 CMC § 1307(a), which states that a person guilty of contempt “shall upon conviction be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
Misconduct in public office is likewise punishable by 1 CMC § 1307(a).
On Friday, Oct. 27, Clerk of Court Patrick Diaz issued a penal summons against Torres, who must appear before a judge on Dec. 18, 2023, Monday, at 9 a.m.
“If you do not appear, an application may be made for the issuance of a warrant for your arrest,” Diaz said.
Recusal
As his wife, Viola Alepuyo, is one of Torres’s attorneys, Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has recused himself from presiding over the new case.
Background
In Dec. 2021, Torres, then a Republican governor, was found by a Democrat-Independent-led House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee in contempt of a legislative subpoena for refusing to appear before the panel, which was investigating his public expenditures.
On Jan. 12, 2022, the House impeached Torres, who was accused of corruption, neglect of duty and felonies of theft as well as contempt.
On May 18, 2022, the Republican-led Senate acquitted Torres of all charges.
Subsequently, the former governor sued the House JGO Committee and sought a court declaration that the subpoena was unlawful and that its enforcement would violate the CNMI Constitution.
But according to the committee, the speech or debate clause of the CNMI Constitution made them absolutely immune from a suit by the governor.
The Superior Court agreed and dismissed the case. Torres then appealed the dismissal to the CNMI Supreme Court.
Last year, Justices Pro Tem Guam Supreme Court Chief Justice Philip Carbullido, Guam Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert J. Torres, and Guam Superior Court Judge Arthur Barcinas presided over the appeal proceedings and heard arguments from the parties.
The original case against Torres was filed by the Office of the Attorney General 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, which remains pending, 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.
In his ruling, the judge said evidence indicated that the prosecutor, J. Robert Glass Jr., was exposed to “privileged information regarding non-appearance to a legislative subpoena as charged in Count XIV — Contempt.”
