HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Supreme Court of Guam has referred Attorney General Douglas Moylan to the Judiciary’s Office of Regulation Counsel, which is responsible for investigating ethics complaints.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Guam issued an order related to a petition filed by Department of Public Health and Social Services Director Arthur San Agustin, who has been seeking to have Presiding Judge Alberto Lamorena III disqualified from his case. San Agustin faces criminal charges related to approving sanitary permits for 15 schools without legally required inspections.
The petition, which was orally argued last month, was based on Lamorena being used as a professional reference in AG Moylan’s resume used in his campaign last year. San Agustin argued this showed a bias to Moylan and the Office of the Attorney General, which is prosecuting San Agustin.
Lamorena disagreed and explained Moylan’s actions were unilateral, and he did not permit Moylan to use his name in response to San Agustin’s request for Lamorena to be disqualified. However, the Supreme Court requested Lamorena amend his answer to the objection.
In the amended answer, Lamorena explained he would send a letter to Moylan “instructing him to delete any existing publications and to refrain from using” Lamorena’s name and title as a reference without Lamorena’s consent.
The post with Moylan’s resume on his Facebook account has since been deleted.
The order also detailed that Moylan confirmed that “he never sought nor asked Presiding Judge Lamorena to publish” his resume “before or after it was published on Facebook.”
Upon Lamorena amending his response on Dec. 11, the Supreme Court decided Lamorena would remain on the case.
Referred
In addition to deciding Lamorena would stay on the case, the Supreme Court stated they would refer Moylan’s conduct to the Office of Regulation Counsel.
In discussing Moylan’s conduct, the Supreme Court cited the Code of Judicial Conduct regarding a judge who has knowledge of a lawyer that “raises a substantial question as to a lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects shall inform the appropriate authority.”
In the Supreme Court “considering the particular circumstances” in the DPHSS corruption case, the higher court decided to “refer Moylan’s conduct in this matter to the Office of Regulation Counsel for investigation.”
The Office of Regulation Counsel, led by former AG Alicia Limtiaco, is authorized to investigate ethics complaints filed against members of the Guam Bar Association.
The Supreme Court in turn referred to the record, however, they did not give their opinions or explanations regarding any alleged misconduct.
“We refer the record to the Office of Regulation Counsel for its review without an explanation of specific misconduct other than Moylan may have engaged in conduct that did not comport with the Guam Rules of Professional Conduct,” the justices wrote.
“We do not believe that an expository explanation for the referral is necessary because it may have the unavoidable effect of the court directly or indirectly expressing its views of the conduct in question prior to its investigation. And because the Office of Regulation Counsel will have the ability to conduct a full and complete investigation,” the justices added.
The Guam Judicial Center in Hagåtña on Friday, June 2, 2023.
