Camacho seek speedy trials and mandatory preliminary hearings

House Floor Leader Joseph James N. Camacho has introduced sister bills that seek to implement speedy trials and a mandatory right to a preliminary hearing.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune, Camacho said that federal court and other states provide for speedy trials but this has not been put down in statutory form in the CNMI.

Camacho, a lawyer, said defendants must be entitled to speedy trials in the Commonwealth so that guilty persons are immediately punished, while innocent ones won’t unreasonably suffer any delay in their cases.

“There are cases now that last for many months, sometimes years, before cases are resolved. And when you do get to trial, the court and the prosecution sometimes dismiss the case just before trial or during trial,” he said.

When this happens, it is a waste of resources for the court, the government and those paying private attorneys, he said.

“What we are asking for is that you must go to trial within six months, obviously to save resources and at the same time to allow people to have their day in court instead of being unnecessary delayed,” he said.

According to the bill, the unreasonable delay and repeated continuation of cases clog court dockets.

“Court time and resources are wasted when trial dates are set, jurors are summoned, witnesses are called only to have the trial date moved,” said Camacho in the proposed measure.

Also, when cases are unreasonably delayed and repeatedly continued, this fosters an atmosphere of lax prosecution, he said. “It creates a situation where witnesses may have left the island and memories fade,” he added.

Camacho’s other proposed measure seeks to mandate that a person be accorded the right to a preliminary examination before the Attorney General formally charges a person with the commission of a felony.

Right now, he said, the Attorney General is the authority that brings the charges.

But a defendant, he said, has the right to have those charges reviewed by a fair and impartial magistrate to ensure if probable cause exists.

This is needed, Camacho said, so a person can confront the charges formally rather than deal with the repercussions of the allegations for months or years before their day in court.

The congressman said preliminary hearings currently take place but that they are not given to defendants who have already posted bail.

“The right to a preliminary hearing and the right to bail are two different things. You can post bail to be released on liberty until your trial should come. But the right to have those charges be reviewed by a fair and impartial magistrate is separate from the right to post bail,” he pointed out.

Camacho said absent a grand jury system, having an independent and impartial magistrate review charges brought by the AG is at minimum a safeguard from unfounded and baseless allegations by the prosecution.

“Accordingly, the purpose of this act is to create a safeguard for the people of the Commonwealth from unfounded and baseless charges by the Attorney General by ensuring that charges are reviewed by an independent and impartial magistrate or judge,” he said.