SPECIAL prosecutor James Robert Kingman is opposing former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ motion for clarification and or reconsideration of the previous decision of the Superior Court to deny the defense motion to dismiss Counts I to XII for failure to allege mens rea.
“Mens rea” is a legal term that refers to the mental state or intention of a person while committing a crime. It is a Latin phrase that translates to “guilty mind.”
According to Kingman, the court’s previous ruling was clear.
“The court’s ruling detailed how CNMI law governs statutes when there is no specific mens rea in a statute,” he said.
Most CNMI offenses do not specify a mens rea element, Kingman added.
“Prior prosecutions under this statute have been carried out without the specified language. Such a ‘manifest injustice’ and lack of clarity apparently did not obstruct the Commonwealth in those cases. In fact, a survey of CNMI criminal statutes [shows] that most offenses do not have the traditional mental state language of intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. The statutes for Assault, (§1201-1204), Sexual Assault of any degree (§1301-1309), and Child Pornography (§1323) all lack mens rea language and only focus on mental state as it refers to identity or age of a victim. Kidnapping (§1421), Mutiny and Hijacking (§1432-1433), Resisting Arrest (§1434), and all kinds of Theft (§1601-1608) lack mens rea language and only refer to presumptions against the defendant. The list continues throughout the code, with mental state language only being introduced in statutory language to discount a defense or to separate mistake from volition. And yet, prosecutions against these myriad offenses are not dismissed on the bases of manifest injustice or obscurity,” he said.
“There is no obligation of the Commonwealth to include elements outside of the statute.”
He added, “Jury instructions include numerous legal principles and definitions not in a charging instrument, from the presumption of innocence to the constitutional bar on the jury to consider if the defendant testifies or not. None of these are required in charging instruments; the instruction from the judge is sufficient to provide the necessary definitions and principles.”
Kingman said the defendant’s “motion to reconsider and/or clarification should be denied as it has been appropriately ruled on.”
He has also asked the court to deny Torres’ motion to reconsider the court’s previous order denying the defense motion for the Office of the Attorney General to withdraw or be disqualified as prosecutor.
The former governor was charged by the AG’s office with 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.
Former Gov. Torres has denied the charges.
Represented by attorneys Viola Alepuyo, Victorino DLG Torres, Matthew Holley, and Anthony Aguon, the former governor has asked the court to clarify and clearly define the mens rea standard required for the Office of the Attorney General to prove its charges of misconduct in office and of violating 1 CMC § 7407.
In a previous order, Judge Pro Tem Alberto Tolentino said, “The standard mens rea for civil penalties and felonies is clear under Commonwealth law and the mens rea for the alleged charges will be presented to the jury in their instructions.”
The former governor’s jury trial will start on June 5, 2023.
On April 19, 2023, Judge Tolentino recused himself from the case due to health reasons.
As of Monday, no new judge had been appointed to preside over the case.
James Robert Kingman
