THE first CNMI trial court judge, Herbert D. Soll, 85, passed away peacefully Wednesday afternoon at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii with his family.
His wife, Elena, said the former judge died from heart complications.
She said he will be remembered “for helping so many without reservation, and for changing lives.”
She said she and her husband had been in Hawaii since May 2022 for his medical checkup.
To the people who have expressed sympathy and condolences, she said: “Please thank them from me and my family.”
A former Peace Corps volunteer who was deployed to Brazil, and a former chief prosecutor in Alaska, Soll was the chief public defender of the Trust Territory government before he was appointed as the first Commonwealth trial court judge in February 1979.
He was tasked with the responsibility of organizing the court back then. Soll was an associate judge until September 1985.
He also served as deputy attorney general from 1993 to 1996 and as hearing officer for the Department of Labor and Immigration from 1996 to 1999. He was attorney general from 2000 to 2002.
He taught at Northern Marianas College and was one of the leaders of the local Democratic Party.
According to former party chair Nola Hix, Soll “was a member of our Central Executive Committee and a part of our Emeritus Group.”
CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro Castro said: “Judge Soll was my mentor.”
“When he was a public defender, that’s how I met him. Because I worked as a paralegal for the public defender at that time and he was my boss.”
Castro said Soll wanted all paralegals to undergo training that would allow them to become attorneys.
“As the chief public defender that time, he found the dean of the Papua New Guinea faculty of law who was a graduate of Harvard Law, and managed to get seats for six Micronesian paralegals,” Castro said.
“It was Judge Soll who sent me to law school,” the chief justice said.
“The last time that he was here in my office he was discussing his role as part of the volunteer legal team that set up the court system in Afghanistan.”
Deeply saddened
Castro’s office also issued the following statement:
“It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of former Associate Judge of the Commonwealth Trial Court Herbert D. Soll. In addition to serving as Associate Judge, Judge Soll was appointed, and served as a Justice Pro Tempore for the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
“Judge Soll was truly a titan in the legal profession and instrumental in the success of our judicial system. Without his leadership and perseverance in the infancy stages of the Commonwealth, the court would not have likely made the strides it has in the past decades….
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Judge Soll. His contributions and dedication to improving the Commonwealth, and the Pacific region as a whole, cannot be overstated. While serving as Public Defender, Herb anticipated the establishment of a Commonwealth between the NMI and the United States, and worked to send the trial assistants employed at the office of the Public Defender, including myself, to study under the Faculty of Law at the University of Papua New Guinea. I credit my successes in the legal field to his foresight and guidance. Judge Soll’s legacy will endure and his passion for justice will continue to be felt at the Judiciary years from now.
“Our sympathy goes out to his family.”
In a separate statement, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said:
“On behalf of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, I would like to extend my condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of the former Attorney General and the Commonwealth’s first Trial Court Judge, the Honorable Herbert D. Soll. We remember and thank him for his historical contributions to the NMI throughout his career and lifetime. May he Rest In Peace.”
Herbert D. Soll
