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Current Cases on Appeal
The Supreme Court is the court of last resort with the authority to affirm, modify, vacate, set aside or reverse a Superior Court judgment, order or decree. 1 CMC § 3103. Preview the cases pending before the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Law Clerk
Supreme Court law clerks research case law, prepare memoranda, draft orders and opinions, and perform other administrative duties under the direction of a justice. They also assist with community outreach programs. (Click above tab for available clerkship.)
National Center for State Court Statistics Project
The National Center for State Courts annually compiles the Court Statistics Project that gives judges and court administrators a national perspective on court operations. Click on the tab above for the most recent information submitted to the NCSC, CSP or view it on the NCSC website at www.ncsc.org
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Court rules are periodically revised by committees that are chaired by a Supreme Court justice or a Superior Court judge. See which rules are currently being revised. Comments and feedback are welcome and can be forwarded to the Supreme Court at Supreme.Court@NMIJudiciary.com before April 1, 2022.
Pursuant to 1 CMC § 311, the following legal holidays are observed in the Commonwealth for the calendar year of 2022. >>See More
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Clerk of the Supreme Court
Judy T. Aldan assumed her duty as Clerk of Court for the NMI Supreme Court on November 2020.
Prior to joining the Judiciary, she was a staff attorney with the CNMI Law Revision, and an attorney with Torres Brothers, LLC. For several years, she served as the Criminal Justice Program Coordinator and Instructor at Northern Marianas College. She also taught leadership at Keystone Leadership Training Center in Bundang-Gu, South Korea.
Mrs. Aldan received her Juris Doctorate degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and her undergraduate degree from Boise State University. She returned home after completing her studies and joined the CNMI Bar in 2008.
The Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court is Nora V. Borja, who has been with the Judiciary for over 25 years. Mrs. Borja served the former Chief Justice, Miguel Demapan, as his Judicial Assistant before joining the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court in 2012. She is also the Bar Administrator.
Deputy Clerk of Court
TABLE 1: Types of Cases Filed, Decided and Pending
TABLE 2: Manners of Disposition
TABLE 3: Outcome of Cases Decided on the Merits
Albia v. Duenas
Supreme Court No. 2021-SCC-0017-CIV
In this case, the Supreme Court must decide whether the statute of limitations was correctly applied to bar Plaintiff Tenorio I. Albia’s lawsuit. In 2018, Albia filed a motion with the Commonwealth Superior Court, seeking to execute on a money Judgment from the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands that issued against Commonwealth Security Services and George C. Duenas in January of 1996. The trial court denied the motion, citing Albia’s failure to provide notice of service. Later in 2018, a separate probate action was initiated for Duenas’ estate, with Leyalani Lynn Duenas appointed as administratrix. After nearly two years, Albia moved to substitute the estate of Duenas as defendant in lieu of Duenas himself, who had passed away in 2017. The trial court again denied Albia’s motion and also dismissed the case for being outside the statute of limitations. The Supreme Court will now decide whether that dismissal was correct.
Albia v. Duenas is on the calendar for Oral Argument:
Date & Time: February 1, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.
Venue: Supreme Court Courtroom,
Guma’ Hustisia, Saipan
Counsels: Plaintiff-Appellants
Michael A. White
Amici Curiae
Brian Sers Nicolas
Panel Members: Associate Justice John A. Manglona
Associate Justice Perry B. Inos
Justice Pro Tempore F. Philip Carbullido
Available positions:
Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro
Fall 2022
Associate Justice John A. Manglona
Spring 2023
Associate Justice Perry B. Inos
Spring 2023
Recruitment for the positions begin a year before the position is available. For more information, contact Judy T. Aldan, Clerk of Court for the Supreme Court at Supreme.Court@NMIJudiciary.com