NMI’s chief criminal attorney

At age 9, David W. Hutton began dreaming of becoming a lawyer, a dream that got started by the presence of a law office near the barbershop where his father used to bring him for his regular haircut in Pulaski, Tennessee, a small town with a population of about 5,000.

As a young boy, Hutton said he was in awe of the lawyer who held office near his hometown’s barbershop, the late Atty. Jim Hagen, who used to call him fondly as “Little Dave.”

“One day, he [Hagen] took me to his office and there was a large library with books all over. In my mind, that’s when I decided what I wanted to do,” Hutton recalled.

His interest in becoming a lawyer did not fade, even though Hagen killed himself several years later inside his law office when Hutton was just 13—and incident that was emotionally devastating to the “wannabe” attorney. He said the incident threw one aspect of the profession into sharp relief—that the legal profession entails great responsibility.

Hutton, however, kept his eye on his dream, not an easy task for a teenager belonging to a big family of humble beginnings. He worked as a bartender and block mason to support his college and law school education at the University of Northern Alabama and the California Western School of Law before finally becoming an attorney in 1983 at the tender age of 24.

Now 45, Hutton leads the CNMI Attorney General’s Office’s as its chief prosecutor, tasked with a duty to enforce the rule of law and sending criminals to jail. A lawyer for 21 years now, Hutton has had extensive experience in his profession, practicing in diverse areas of law in private, corporate and government sectors.

“I think the legal profession is the finest profession in the world because law is the cornerstone of our society,” Hutton said. “Were it not for the legal profession, I wouldn’t have gone very far.”

As a lawyer, Hutton said he finds his greatest fulfillment in interacting with people and accomplishing things that have significant impact on their lives.

Beginning 1984, Hutton established the David Hutton & Associates, a private law firm engaged mainly in litigation and appellate practice in state and federal courts in Mississippi and Louisiana. He later engaged in law practice in Texas, maintaining the law firm until 1996.

The litigation attorney then joined the corporate world as vice president and general counsel for Village Properties Inc., a major real estate development firm headquartered in his Pulaski hometown. The company’s holdings included 23 retail shopping centers, with tenants such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Belk, JC Penney, Payless Shoes, and Sears, among others.

Hutton then moved to Sidney, Nebraska in the year 2000 and became the general counsel for Cabela’s, the world’s largest global retailer of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear. Hutton created the first in-house legal department at Cabela’s, established the legal framework and philosophy of the corporation, and helped drastically reduce costs arising from legal disputes.

Hutton and his wife Robbin came to Saipan in June 2002, both joining the AGO’s Civil Division. As Assistant Attorney General, Hutton initially handled the controversial Bank of Saipan receivership case on behalf of the government, together with now Civil Division chief Benjamin Sachs.

In August of that year, when then chief prosecutor Clyde Lemons Jr. resigned from the post, the shocking news broke out about the grisly murder of a Japanese tour coordinator by an employee of the CNMI’s premier tourism marketing arm, the Marianas Visitors Authority.

Then attorney general Ramona Manglona tasked Hutton to handle this controversial case, counting on Hutton’s former 14-year experience as a criminal defense lawyer, even though he still maintained his post at the Civil Division.

Hutton, together with assistant attorney general Joseph Taijeron Jr., successfully prosecuted the first-degree murder case and obtained a 50-year prison sentence for the defendant—the highest prison term meted out by a CNMI court. Manglona officially appointed Hutton as chief prosecutor on March 21, 2003.

“The workload is very heavy. The responsibility is very diverse. At times, the job is overwhelming, sometimes dangerous, but always humbling,” Hutton said.

Hutton said he begins work regularly as early as 5:30am and always misses lunch due to the heavy workload at the AGO’s Criminal Division. As recently as Memorial Day Monday, he had just arrived from an off-island trip, only for police officers to arrive at his residence in the wee hours, requesting that he do urgent applications for arrest and search warrants.

Notwithstanding the security risk entailed by his position, Hutton takes pride in managing to reduce the number of pending criminal cases from 2,176 to just between 800 to 900 at present. As chief prosecutor, the fight against illegal drugs is his top priority.

Hutton expressed gratitude to the support given to him by AG Pamela Brown, Deputy AG Lemons, his fellow AAG’s, the Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, the AG’s Investigative Unit, and especially his staff.

“Although there are opportunities available to me in the corporate world, I have literally developed a love affair with serving the people of the Commonwealth. I truly am enthralled with being a public servant and serving the people of the islands. It is not only a great responsibility, but also a great privilege,” he said.

Hutton and his wife Robbin are blessed with two sons—Chaz, 11, and Tyler, 10—and daughter Tori, 8.