Wiseman denied the CNMI government’s motion to transfer the trial venue of Kurt John Borja King, 28, and Byron Dela Cruz, 30, who were charged with possession and trafficking of a controlled substance. Another charge of conspiracy to commit trafficking of a controlled substance was filed against King.
Wiseman said he was reluctant to transfer venue “without any supporting facts or declarations to support such a contention.”
Assistant Attorney General Russel Lorfing, the prosecutor, argued that King’s “ties to the [Tinian] community [where the case will be tried] make it impossible for the commonwealth to have a fair trial.”
In his ruling last week, Wiseman acknowledged that “King’s ties to the community might appear to make it impossible for the commonwealth to have a fair trial in Tinian.”
In addition, Wiseman said “the fact that…King is widely known and extremely involved in the political infrastructure in Tinian and is a relative of a highly respected family on the island is not enough to establish good cause when moving to transfer venue.”
Wiseman noted that in Guerrero v Tinian Dynasty Hotel, 2006, “Our Supreme Court has held that the fact that some of our islands have small populations which may implicate certain community knowledge and family ties cannot lead to a presumption against fairness and what would surely be resulting loss of participation in the judicial process.”
In April 2010, King and Dela Cruz were arrested by the Joint Drug Enforcement Task Force on charges of illegal possession of controlled substance, and trafficking of controlled substance.
They have denied the charges.
Wiseman said the defendants may not comment on the penalty or consequences of a conviction as moved by the prosecution.
The government may introduce audio tapes, “as long as they are properly authenticated,” and also introduce the defendants’ prior bad acts, Wiseman ordered.
Last December, jurors on Tinian found Kurt King not guilty of raping a woman in 2009.
