House unanimously passes bail reform bill

The House of Representatives unanimously passed Friday a bill that aims to improve standards of bail proceedings in the CNMI by establishing bail procedures, authorizing denial of bail, imposing conditions of release, and protecting victims.

With all 18 House members present voting yes to House Bill 23-33, House Substitute 1, the bill now goes to the Senate for action.

Reps. Reps. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan) and Thomas John Dela Cruz Manglona (R-Saipan) were absent, but excused from the session.

The bill proposes to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to describe judicial discretion to deny bail under certain circumstances.

Before the voting, Rep. Marissa Renee Flores (Ind-Saipan), who is the author of the legislation, said this has been a drawn-out bill that has received a lot of feedback from both the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Public Defender

After much discussion, she said, they finally found a balance that protects both the civil rights of the accused while protecting the community from repeat, violent offenders, said Flores, who chairs the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee.

Flores noted that, on that day’s (Friday) newspaper, another individual who was on probation and a repeat violent offender, was again arrested for allegedly choking his wife.

“This bill aims to allow the judicial court the freedom and their discretion to establish an appropriate bail, with the prosecution and the public defender conducting due diligence and [their] job to protect the public and…the defendant,” Flores said.

The committee amended the bill to ensure that judges are given proper discretion to see to it that a person accused of a crime does not endanger another person.

Those who opposed the bill were Chief Public Defender Douglas W. Hartig, attorneys Charity Hodson, Bruce Berline, Richard T. Miller, and Robert T. Torres; and assistant public defender Molly Denard.

Those who supported the legislation were Attorney General Edward Manibusan, Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds, Chief Solicitor Robert Glass Jr., and Rachel Masga Sablan.

The legislation, known as the “The Keisha King Bail Reform Act,” is named after King, who was killed on March 12, 2020 by her boyfriend, who was a convicted felon with a substantial criminal history, who shot her.