THE local Supreme Court has granted the request of the Office of the Attorney General for a writ of mandamus directing the Superior Court to accept complaints filed under NMI Rule of Criminal Procedure 5 that have an electronic signature from the prosecuting attorney.
In their ruling dated Aug. 22, Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro, Justice John A. Manglona and Justice Perry B. Inos found that a Rule 5 complaint filed by a police officer does not require the prosecutor’s signature and is not deficient if the prosecutor provides an electronic signature indicating that the complaint was reviewed for legal sufficiency.
“We find that the [trial] court clearly erred in holding that the complaint was deficient and then dismissing the case,” the justices added.
They noted that the prosecution refiled the charges and rearrested the defendant a day after the dismissal.
In its request for a writ, the AG’s office stated that if the order stands, it would be damaged whenever a prosecutor provides an electronic signature on a Rule 5 complaint. The AG’s office said it would have to refile the case, rearrest the defendant, and repeat the bail hearing.
In December 2021, Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio dismissed without prejudice the criminal complaint against Eric Lee Nekaifes after finding that the complaint and supporting affidavit of probable cause were deficient.
Police had arrested Nekaifes on charges of assault and battery, strangulation, and possession of ammunition.
Judge Kim-Tenorio said she would not recognize any non-physical signature on a Rule 5 complaint.
Unlike other electronically filed court documents, Judge Kim-Tenorio said, there is no secure credentialing method, other than physical signature, that can confirm the integrity of each signatory’s identity on a Rule 5 complaint before the document is reviewed and signed by a judge of the Superior Court.
She said she was wary of the possibility that a law enforcement officer of the CNMI, pressured by the time constraints of the NMI Rules on Criminal Procedure 5, could type the attorney general’s non-physical signature to quickly have a judge of the CNMI Superior Court sign a Rule 5 complaint.
“The law enforcement officer could then obtain a warrant for arrest without the CNMI Office of the Attorney General’s actual review, only to later ask the CNMI OAG to certify the Rule 5 complaint in court or through electronic filing,” the judge said.
She “remains adamant that the proper criminal procedures must be followed before a defendant’s liberty is taken away.”
