District_Court_for_the_Northern_Mariana_Islands
District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
United States territorial court
The District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands[2] (in case citations, D. N. Mar. I.) is a federal territorial court whose jurisdiction comprises the United States-affiliated Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). It was established by Act of Congress in 1977, pursuant to an international agreement between the United States and the CNMI that brought the CNMI under United States sovereignty. The court began hearing cases in January 1978. The court regularly sits in Saipan but may sit elsewhere in the CNMI. The court has the same jurisdiction as United States district courts, including diversity jurisdiction and bankruptcy jurisdiction. However, the District Court is not an Article III U.S. District Court, and because of that its judge is appointed for a 10-year term[1] instead of for life. Appeals are taken to the Ninth Circuit.
Like most federal judges, judges in this court are appointed by the president, subject to Senate confirmation. Judges may serve more than one term, subject to the standard nominating process.
The United States is represented in civil and criminal litigation in the court by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The first District Judge appointed was Alfred Laureta, who served from 1978 until 1988. His successor, Alex R. Munson, was nominated by President Ronald Reagan, and confirmed by the Senate in 1988. Munson was nominated for a second ten-year term by President Bill Clinton and was confirmed by the Senate in 1998. He took senior status effective February 28, 2010.[3] On January 26, 2011, President Obama nominated Ramona Villagomez Manglona to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands for a term of ten years. The U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote on July 26, 2011 and she received her commission on July 29, 2011.[4] Her initial ten-year term ended on July 28, 2021, although she was allowed to continue serving until the confirmation of a successor. She was later nominated by President Joe Biden for a second ten-year term and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 16, 2024.[5]
The District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands was established by Pub. L. 95-157, 91 Stat. 1265 (Nov. 8, 1977), and is codified at 48 U.S.C. § 1821, a nonpositive law title.
