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Tinian opens new Courthouse
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Posted on Sep 02 1999
Court proceedings on Tinian can now be comfortable with the opening of a new Courthouse on the island, Supreme Court Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan said yesterday.
“For several years, we have been using an office space at the [Department of Public Safety] building for court sessions. Now, we finally have our own,” Demapan said.
The new Courthouse in San Jose village was formally opened during last Friday’s ceremony, which, Demapan said, was almost disrupted by the cancellation of the Tinian Express ferry service.
“We were supposed to send some of our people there, but many didn’t make it because of the ferry service cancellation,” Demapan said.
The new Tinian Courthouse, which was a major CIP project on Tinian, has a single courtroom, Demapan said.
The courtroom in the new judiciary house is not as big as the courtrooms at the Guma Husticia in Saipan, but Demapan said “it is spacious enough to give us comfort” during court sessions.
The Tinian Courthouse has its own Clerk of Court office, and the island residents can file cases there instead of coming to Saipan, Demapan said.
The Superior Court used to conduct proceedings in a small room within the police building.
Supreme Court sessions were never conducted in Tinian. All Supreme Court proceedings were held on Saipan, but the construction of a new Courthouse on Tinian has allowed the high tribunal to “bring the Supreme Court closer to Tinian residents.”
The Supreme Court started conducting sessions on Tinian three weeks ago. (MCM)
