SUPERIOR Court Judge Pro Tem Alberto E. Tolentino has taken under advisement the conflict-of-interest notice by the Office of the Attorney General in its complaint against Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.
Judge Tolentino, who appeared via video teleconference at a hearing on Tuesday, said he will soon issue an order.
Gov. Torres was represented by attorneys Viola Alepuyo, Matthew Holley, and Anthony Aguon while Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr. appeared for the AG’s office.
Glass has asked the court to look into possible conflicts of interest in the representation of the governor by attorneys Viola Alepuyo and Anthony Aguon who have also represented two government witnesses.
Alepuyo represented Frances Dela Cruz, the governor’s executive assistant, in connection with the hearing held by the Judicial and Governmental Operations Committee of the House of Representatives.
Aguon, for his part, represented Police Officer Jomalyn Gelacio also in connection with the same legislative hearing.
But Holley in his opposition to the Office of the AG’s motion said: “The Sixth Amendment right to counsel of the United States Constitution applies in the CNMI.”
Glass said the “defendant misses the point of why the Commonwealth is raising this issue.”
“The Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel means that counsel should also be free of conflicts,” he added. “The Commonwealth is indifferent to who represents the defendant or how many people represent the defendant as long as the record in the case is protected from possible mistrials and the defendant receives effective assistance of counsel so that he cannot later make a claim of ineffective assistance. The Commonwealth specifically pointed out the potential trial and appellate issues that occur when a possible conflict is not timely disclosed.”
For their part, the governor’s lawyers have filed a motion to have the AG’s office withdraw or be disqualified as prosecutor.
They said the “AG is prosecuting [the] governor for an alleged violation in which the AG provided legal advice.”
Torres’ motion to disqualify the AG’s office will be heard on May 31, at 9 a.m.
On April 8, 2022, the AG’s office filed a criminal case against the governor 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 first lady Diann T. Torres.
The case also alleges one count of contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a subpoena.
The governor pled not guilty to the charges.
Alberto E. Tolentino
