Brown names Hutton as lead lawyer for garment-related cases

Attorney general Pamela Brown relieved David Hutton as chief prosecutor, appointing him instead as the lead lawyer who would coordinate law enforcement related to the CNMI’s garment industry.

Hutton’s first assignment would be to look into possible violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by garment companies, according to Brown.

She disclosed Hutton’s transfer of assignment yesterday, naming assistant attorney general Jeff Moots as the new chief prosecutor.

She also announced the appointment of Jay Livingstone as the new civil division chief, replacing assistant attorney general Benjamin Sachs, who had reportedly indicated his intention not to renew his employment contract that would expire on Aug. 1.

Brown’s announcement of the reorganization came about amid rumors that Hutton would be relieved from his post as chief prosecutor for allegedly failing to notify the attorney general of an off-island trip. But Brown said that Hutton’s new assignment was a “lateral” transfer from his previous post as chief prosecutor.

“It’s not really a demotion by any means because I’m very happy with his work at the criminal division,” Brown said.

She cited as an example the re-assignment of former chief prosecutor Kevin Lynch, who was given the task of handling labor issues to make good use of the latter’s expertise at the Department of Labor.

Hutton was not present at the news briefing and could not be reached for comments as of press time.

As special attorney coordinating various legal issues in the garment industry, Hutton would act as the lead attorney in garment-related cases, according to Brown.

“It’s a coordinator [position] really. He’ll [Hutton] be like the lead attorney. They’re [other assistant AG’s] not reporting to him [Hutton]. He’s not supervising them in that sense. They reporting to him just…for coordination and communication,” Brown clarified.

“What I’ve realized is that there are so many different attorneys handling different aspects of the garment industry that I needed to have one attorney that can coordinate for me…all the different…legal services,” she said.

Other assistant AG’s would continue to handle garment industry-related cases, according to Brown. Assistant attorney general Deborah Covington would handle civil litigation and criminal prosecution of garment factories for nonpayment of taxes, including the pending criminal case against Sako Corp. Lynch would continue handling collection cases against factories, based on complaints of unpaid wages and the like.

Moots, the new chief prosecutor, said he would improve on the organizational structure at the AGO’s criminal division to ensure that its attorneys have time and assets to prosecute cases. Moots, who was the government’s environmental lawyer, said he has had experience in criminal litigation in the U.S. mainland, handling some 17 death penalty cases.

“With the changes in the garment industry, that’s going to be a big focus of the civil division—to make sure that as the factories leave, they’re fully paid on taxes and have complied with all our laws,” said Livingstone.

Brown also disclosed yesterday the appointment of Joseph Aldan as the new chief of the Attorney General’s Investigative Unit last December.