Attorney Joaquin DLG Torres, left, and his client, Shayne B. Villanueva, are interviewed by reporters following the court’s not-guilty verdict.
ATTORNEY Keith Chambers II has requested that the Superior Court reconsider the public reprimand and sanctions it imposed on him.
Judge Kenneth L. Govendo reprimanded Chambers, who represents Shayne Villanueva in a contempt of legislature case, and ordered him to pay a $500 fine for violating the model rules of professional conduct, specifically for “harming the administration of justice and wasting resources by withholding crucial information and inconveniencing other parties.”
In a 25-page motion to consider, Chambers said it is necessary to correct a clear error and prevent manifest injustice.
He said the order of public reprimand and sanction violated his due process rights by not giving him notice and opportunity to be heard regarding the sanctions.
He said the order needed to make a finding of bad faith prior to the imposition of sanctions.
“The court clearly erred in finding that Mr. Chambers violated MRPC Rules 3.4 and 8.4(d) with respect to the filing of Mr. Villaneuva’s motions to recuse Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja and Assistant Attorney General James Kingman,” Chamber’s motion to reconsider stated.
It added, “Before Mr. Chambers can be sanctioned by this court, due process requires that Mr. Chambers be given notice and an opportunity to be heard, neither of which happened here with respect to the sanctions ordered by the court.”
Chambers said the court should issue a show cause order demanding him to argue why he should not be sanctioned. The court should then hear the motion to reconsider and receive outside facts at an evidentiary hearing on whether he should be sanctioned, Chambers added.
“Recognizing that the court is wary of actions that waste judicial resources and as a showing of good faith that he is not seeking an evidentiary hearing to waste the court’s time,” Chambers “submits an offer of proof to preview some of the facts and arguments that will be raised should the court wish to issue a show cause order.”
According to Chambers, his client explicitly ordered him not to file the motion to recuse Presiding Judge Naraja out of fear that the motion would be interpreted as a personal attack on Naraja and that Villaneuva would suffer negative ramifications in other aspects of his case as a result.
“Mr. Villanueva’s attorneys did not receive consent to file the Motion to Recuse Presiding Judge Naraja until after the Recusal Dates Order,” Chambers said.
He said he attempted in good faith not to rely on the communications here and thus not to be forced to recuse Kingman.
“In the email chain between James Kingman and Keith Chambers II, Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 4:01, Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 10:29 AM, and Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 5:26 PM, it can be seen that Mr. Chambers attempted to secure a stipulation that would have prevented the use of any of the communications and thus make Mr. Kingman’s recusal unnecessary,” Chambers said.
However, he said this attempt was denied by Kingman, who responded with, “I am not going to stipulate to communications that I had with you.”
Chambers said Kingman “sought to prevent the inclusions of the communications as shown by his statements in the emails themselves.”
Chambers seeks to introduce the above evidence to establish the following facts: 1) He was ethically prevented from moving to recuse Presiding Judge Naraja until the recusal dates order; and 2) Chambers did not engage in gamesmanship regarding his timing in filing Villanueva’s motion to recuse Kingman.
In his order, Judge Govendo also sanctioned and disqualified Kingman from the case. The judge likewise denied Kingman’s motion to quash the subpoena for him to testify as a witness in the trial, saying that the prosecutor’s motion was “not well-founded.”
In addition, the judge granted the defense’s cross-motion to recuse Kingman, saying “Kingman should not remain the prosecutor for this matter to ensure procedural integrity and due process for all parties throughout the court.”
Judge Govendo reprimanded Kingman and ordered him to pay a $500 fine for violating the model rules of professional conduct, specifically for “abusing his prosecutorial power and authority, which led to his forced recusal for bias and lack of impartiality.”
Both lawyers were ordered to pay the fine by Dec. 27, 2024.
As of Monday afternoon, there was no information on whether Kingman had also appealed the sanction order.
Regarding Kingman’s notice of conflict of interest in attorney Joaquin DLG Torres’ representing Villanueva in the case, Judge Govendo ordered the defendant to submit a signed waiver and informed consent regarding the conflicted representation.
Torres represents former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres in another case, which Kingman is also prosecuting.
Judge Govendo disagrees that a subpoena would be prejudicial to the Commonwealth’s case if Kingman were to step aside.
“Kingman is not the only prosecutor the Office of the Attorney General employs. Another prosecutor would equally see the case through trial…. A new impartial prosecutor, untainted and unburdened by allegations of impropriety, would not be prejudicial to the Commonwealth’s case,” the judge said.
Villanueva was charged with contempt of Legislature. His bench trial, originally set for Nov. 6, 2024, had been rescheduled for Dec. 3, 2024. But because the parties informed Judge Govendo of other pending motions, he rescheduled the trial for Jan. 27, 2025.
The case was reassigned to Judge Govendo after Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja recused himself from the case. The judge is the uncle of Rep. Ralph N. Yumul, the chair of the House special committee that found Villanueva in contempt of the Legislature. Villanueva has pled not guilty to the charge.
Villanueva was charged with contempt of Legislature after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right when asked questions about BOOST by the House special committee.
BOOST stands for “Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together,” a $17 million federally funded program.
Villanueva is the owner of Roil Soil Marketing, which the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres contracted to help implement BOOST in 2022.
