James Robert Kingman
ASSISTANT Attorney General James Robert Kingman told the Superior Court that the lawyers of former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres are filing motions to delay his trial.
Defense attorney Joaquin DLG Torres earlier filed a motion for probable cause, saying that the summons issued to his client was “fatally defective as it violates due process, the right to privacy and equal protection.”
In April 2022, the former governor was charged with misconduct in office and theft relating to first-class travel as well as contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a legislative subpoena. He has denied the charges.
Kingman, in his 20-page reply to Joaquin DLG Torres’ motion, said: “Whether a probable cause determination is required before criminal charges are brought has long been settled as a matter of law.”
Kingman said Commonwealth procedures “do not give defendants the right to a probable cause determination before either penal summons nor information. It was statutory, not constitutional, concerns that provided the mechanism of a preliminary examination,” he added.
He said the former governor can challenge the sufficiency of probable cause at trial.
“Defendant may make a motion for acquittal or demonstrate to the fact finder that there is not sufficient probable cause to convict defendant,” Kingman said.
He added that “it is time for the court to do something about this pattern by defendant’s counsel.”
“Sanctions are also appropriate if a document is filed for an improper purpose such as harassing, cause unnecessary delay, or increase the costs of litigation,” Kingman said.
“Even if a document is well grounded in fact and law, if the filing evidences the signer’s bad faith, it is sanctionable. The improper purpose standard is an objective one. Defendant’s attorneys are filing these motions with one clear purpose in mind: delaying the trial in the hope of waiting out the special prosecutor or hoping that there will be political intervention to prevent adjudication of the legal process,” he added.
Kingman said he has “made peace with the type of behavior that defendant’s counsel exhibits.”
“But the duty to police such behavior is on the Judiciary and the Bar, not the prosecution. Those entities should recognize that such behavior, with impunity, undermines faith in the legal process and legitimacy of the body. Unfortunately, this pattern of impunity for the powerful of the CNMI long predates the defendant. And the complete recusal of the entire judiciary when it comes to this defendant means that the Court who has been — like the undersigned Special Prosecutor — called in from outside the Commonwealth to uphold principles of justice and the rule of law must do the hard and right thing.”
“When our brethren lack the will or capacity to do what is right and good, it only elevates the need for vigilance and diligence from those who are called,” Kingman said.
Judge Pro Tempore Arthur Barcinas will hear the parties’ arguments virtually on Feb. 26 at 10 a.m.
