Buckingham appeared for a show-cause hearing in Supreme Court presided by Associate Justice John A. Manglona.
“I humbly offer a sincere apology to the court for these omissions, for the adverse impact they had on the administration of justice and for the time that this issue has taken away from other responsibilities of this honorable court,” Buckingham said in his written response to the Supreme Court’s show-cause order.
“I recognize the importance of the procedural deficiencies arising from this matter and commit to future improvement both for myself and the Office of the Attorney General,” Buckingham added.
Associate Justice Manglona noted that a recent lawsuit against the Commonwealth Health Center that was also appealed in Supreme Court was the “trigger” for the show cause order.
The Supreme Court ordered Buckingham to show-cause why he should not be sanctioned for not filing a timely response brief on the pending appeal of Simon Sebuu who was convicted of theft and criminal mischief.
Buckingham was joined by Chief Prosecutor Michael Ernest and Assistant Attorney General Gilbert Birnbrich, chief of the civil division.
Buckingham, Ernest and Birnbrich told Manglona that due to the fast turnover of personnel, particularly attorneys, the chiefs of divisions have to represent the CNMI in pending appeals.
In his written explanation, Buckingham told the Supreme Court: “I tasked someone to open my emails every day, and I thought it was being done. It was not. I have taken steps to ensure that the omission will not occur again.”
Buckingham said upon assuming office in Aug. 2009, then-Chief Judge Alex R. Munson of the U.S. District Court for the NMI “saw an ongoing deficiency in performance” of the AG’s office, such as the “failure to track and manage cases….”
Munson told the AGO to “establish a ‘calendar clerk’ whose duties…would be to ensure that upcoming schedules were communicated to attorneys.”
Buckingham said: “Looking back at the circumstances preceding the instant order to show cause, I realize that the creation of a calendar clerk was a necessary but inadequate step. Specifically, I failed to ensure that all matters, including appeal scheduling, would be reported by the scheduling clerk.”
Manglona said he will issue an order soon.
After the show-cause hearing, Buckingham met with reporters in the lobby of the judiciary building.
“No,” Buckingham told this reporter who requested for a copy of the AG’s written response to the Supreme Court.
When this reporter requested for an interview, Buckingham said: “Your newspaper is consistently biased.” He then turned around and walked away.
