Brown scores partial victory

Attorney General Pamela Brown scored partial victory yesterday in a court case that has questioned the validity of her Senate confirmation.

Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Naraja yesterday upheld the validity of the participation of senators Joseph M. Mendiola and Paterno S. Hocog in the Senate’s Nov. 17, 2003, Rota session, where all five senators present voted to confirm Brown’s appointment. Naraja also declared the validity of the actions of Mendiola and Hocog in that session.

Former Senate President Juan S. Demapan filed the lawsuit against Brown, assailing the validity of the Nov. 17 Senate confirmation, among other grounds. Demapan contended that Mendiola and Hocog could not have assumed office at that time yet since their respective offices should have begun sometime in January 2004 after the 2003 elections.

Without Mendiola and Hocog, the three senators who were present in the Nov. 17 session would not constitute a quorum to hold a session. The Senate has nine members; five members present constitute a quorum.

Naraja said there was nothing in the court’s record that indicated that Mendiola and Hocog acted improperly.

“Similarly, there is nothing in the record to indicate that the Senate acted outside the scope of its constitutionally delegated authority—the issue of Pam Brown’s appointment notwithstanding,” the judge said. “Even if the record contained some showing of impropriety, the political question doctrine could easily be applied.”

Naraja junked Demapan’s argument that Hocog and Mendiola should not have taken office until the following January after their election into office, saying the constitutional provision on this expressly applies to general elections, not special elections. Both senators got elected in special elections to replace former senators Jose Dela Cruz and Ricardo Atalig, who vacated their posts following their conviction on criminal wire fraud charges by Saipan’s federal court.

“The very purpose of special elections is to fill vacant positions when no regular election is timely enough to do the job. This purpose would be greatly diminished or nullified if the elected official then had to wait until the next January to assume their office,” Naraja said.

The Senate had interceded in the case by filing an amicus brief that asserted that the legislative body is the final judge of the qualification of its members and that the propriety of Mendiola and Hocog’s actions during the Nov. 17 session was a political question beyond the jurisdiction of the court. An amicus brief is a document filed by a non-party to the suit to aid the court in gaining information that could help in its determination of the case.

“Plaintiff [Demapan] is asking the court to find that senators Hocog and Mendiola were not official members of the Senate when they participated in the Rota session. To do so would require that the court evaluate the Senate’s own procedure for determining the validity of its members, and also to second guess the propriety of the actions of two justices of the Supreme Court,” Naraja said.

Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan and Associate Justice Alexandro C. Castro administered the oath of office for Mendiola and Hocog, respectively, on Oct. 20 and Nov. 17, 2003.

But Naraja has yet to rule directly on the validity of Brown’s confirmation, with Demapan claiming that the Nov. 17 confirmation took place after the 90-day deadline expired.

Demapan had argued that Brown’s confirmation deadline fell on Sept. 14, 2003 following her nomination to the attorney general post by Gov. Juan N. Babauta on June 16, 2003. A Senate faction composed of four members explicitly rejected Brown’s nomination on Sept. 17.

Demapan has asked the court to declare that the CNMI government has been paying Brown salary and expenses as attorney general, which he claims is an unlawful expenditure of public funds. The former Senate president wants the court to permanently bar the government from paying Brown the salary and expenses of an attorney general—whether in official or acting capacity.

Demapan filed the lawsuit against Brown after the attorney general blocked the release of some $3.45 million in land compensation claim by the Malite estate by initiating a court action.

Demapan reportedly works as office manager at the law offices of brothers Antonio and the late ex-Justice Pedro Atalig. The law offices represent the Malite estate in its land compensation claim.