President Obama will make the appointment subject to the consent of the U.S. Senate.
Sablan refused to name his two nominees — a male and a female — but said they are both of Northern Marianas-descent.
He also declined to confirm if one of the nominees is a judge of the local court but he said that both are “highly qualified.”
“I prefer that it be someone from the Northern Mariana Islands. We need to start promoting our people. We have many qualified people here and some of them happen to be Chamorros and Carolinians,” Sablan told the media yesterday.
Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, the most senior lawmaker from the Pacific, asked Sablan to make the nomination on behalf of the people of the Northern Marianas.
“Anyone who is selected here will need Senator Inouye to guide him through the confirmation process,” Sablan said.
“I think others have made their own recommendations without recognizing the presence of Mr. Inouye but I won’t do that,” he added. He did not elaborate.
Munson submitted his resignation to the president late last year.
The now 68-year-old judge was appointed to his post by President Ronald Reagan and was confirmed by the Senate in 1988.
He succeeded the first district court judge appointed for the Northern Marianas, Alfred Laureta.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton re-nominated Munson for a second 10-year term and his confirmation went smoothly in the Senate.
Munson was a teacher before he entered the legal field. He earned his law degree from the Loyola University School of Law in 1975.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands was established by an Act of Congress in 1977.
The court began hearing cases in Jan. 1978.
