(CNMI Judiciary) — In joint opinions issued on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, the local Supreme Court reversed in part a pair of trial court decisions disqualifying the Office of the Attorney General from the criminal cases brought against former Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres, but affirmed the disqualification of Assistant Attorney General James R. Kingman and Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr.
The cases, involving alleged misconduct in public office, theft of government funds by first-class airline tickets, and contempt of the legislature for failure to appear for a subpoena, have been remanded to continue towards trial with new prosecutors.
Upon motions from Torres, the trial court disqualified the entire OAG because some attorneys in the office with previous involvement in the prosecutions had a conflict of interest with this case and were not properly screened off of it. The Commonwealth claimed that this blanket disqualification violated due process and was a misapplication of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
In the companion opinions, the CNMI Supreme Court held that the Rules of Professional Conduct cannot be used to vicariously disqualify the entire OAG when the conflict of interest has been properly screened off the case. The high court, however, upheld the disqualifications of Kingman and Glass whose continued involvement in these cases would appear improper and could erode public confidence. The high court emphasized that the OAG occupies a special position as the legal officer mandated by the Constitution and held that the separation of powers between the judicial and executive branches required the high court to hear this appeal before trial.
The full opinions can be read on the Law Revision Commission website:
https://cnmilaw.org/pdf/supreme/2025-MP-05.pdf
https://cnmilaw.org/pdf/supreme/2025-MP-06.pdf
