THE CNMI Supreme Court has denied former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ motion to reconsider the pro hac vice admission of Special Prosecutor James Robert Kingman.
In their order issued on Wednesday, Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro, Justice John A. Manglona and Justice Perry B. Inos said: “We find no material deficiencies in the application which warrants revoking Kingman’s admission to practice pro hac vice.”
They said “circumstances warranting the revocation of a pro hac vice admission usually involve an act of wrongdoing by the admitted lawyer.”
“Here,” they added, “there is no evidence or allegations of misconduct by Kingman. The application included a certificate demonstrating Kingman is in good standing in Texas. We find no material deficiency warranting the revocation of Kingman’s admission. There has not been an intervening change of controlling law, new evidence, or any clear error or manifest injustice.”
Pro hac vice refers to a temporary admission granted to an attorney who is not licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction but is allowed to appear in a specific case or proceeding within that jurisdiction.
According to the defense team’s seven-page motion, admission to the CNMI Bar is a serious matter and not a perfunctory or ritualistic process.
They said Kingman’s application for admission to the CNMI Bar without examination is deficient and does not comply with the applicable admission rules.
Torres’s attorneys — Viola Alepuyo, Victorino DLG Torres, Matthew Holley and Anthony Aguon — said pro hac vice is not the proper basis for bar admission of a special prosecutor.”
The CNMI Office of the Attorney General hired Kingman, a private attorney from Texas, to assist in the prosecution of the misconduct in public office case against former Gov. Torres relating to first-class travel.
On March 6, 2023, the CNMI Supreme Court granted the application for pro hac vice of Kingman to act as a special prosecutor in Superior Court Case No. 22-0050, Commonwealth v. Ralph Anthony DLG Torres.
The high court also waived the $5,000 pro hac vice admission fee.
Kingman, whose pro hac vice admission will expire after a year, will work with the lead prosecutor, Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr.
Glass had asked the high court to deny the defendant’s motion to reconsider the pro hac vice admission.
“Criminal defendants lack standing to challenge the selection of a prosecutor because they do not have a legally protected interest in choosing who prosecutes them,” he said.
According to Glass, “Defendant has not suffered any injury, nor would he suffer any injury based on the admission of an attorney to practice law within a specific case. The standing to contest becomes even more attenuated in the present circumstance where defendant is attempting to choose his prosecutor by challenging the admission of the prosecuting attorney.”
The AG’s office charged the former governor 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 AG’s office also alleged one count of contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a legislative subpoena.
The former governor has denied the charges.
