Saipan, CNMI – On October 6th, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court’s order denying Peter Rios’ motion for reduction of sentence under Commonwealth Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 35(b). The Court ordered that, while not required to give a rationale for denying a Rule 35(b) motion, the Superior Court cannot apply an improper legal standard when it chooses to give a rationale. The Superior Court had applied a standard of whether the original standard was “an illegality or

Congratulations to Brandon H. Delos Reyes, who officially took the oath of office on August 28, 2025, as the Judicial Assistant to...

Judge Lillian A. Tenorio attended the 2025 Treatment Court Judicial Practitioner Training sponsored by the All Rise and Treatment Court...

The NMI Judiciary recently completed a Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) docket viability study, with the final report, Implementing a VTC...

Saipan, CNMI – In joint opinions issued on August 22, 2025, the Supreme Court reversed in part a pair of trial court decisions disqualifying the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) from the criminal cases brought against former-Governor Ralph DLG. Torres, but affirmed the disqualification of Assistant Attorney General James R. Kingman and Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass, Jr. The cases, involving alleged misconduct in public office, theft of government funds by first-class

Justices pro tempore play a vital role in maintaining the integrity and efficiency of the judicial system. Appointed temporarily to hear...