Guam Supreme Court special ethics prosecutor Bruce A. Bradley has been appointed to the case.
Govendo noted that the Commonwealth Rules of Judicial Disciplinary Procedure “do not address a party’s right to file a motion for a more definite statement when confronted with an extremely vague and ambiguous notice of formal proceedings.”
He said he sought guidance from the Commonwealth Rules on Civil Procedures which “allow a party to file a motion requesting the court to direct the adverse party to file a more definite statement when the pleading provided is vague and ambiguous.”
Govendo said the notice of formal proceedings “does not furnish [him] with sufficient descriptions of the alleged violations to allow him to prepare an adequate defense.”
He said “each alleged violation should be pleaded in a separate paragraph alleging the case name, case number, date of offense and the nature of the alleged violation as it pertains to the Canons of Judicial Ethics applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
In other words, Govendo added, he “should be able to adequately prepare and defend himself at his formal proceedings by having detailed knowledge of the exact violations he is charged with.”
The court has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 10, 2010, at 10 a.m.
Govendo has been accused of repeatedly using “racially insensitive and disparaging language in his courtroom,” which he denies.
He is also requesting the court to allow the media to cover the formal proceedings against him.
