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Request to reconsider ruling on voluntary departure issue denied
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Posted on Dec 11 2005
Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman has denied a request to reconsider his earlier ruling that declined to interfere with the Attorney General’s discretion in granting or denying voluntary departure to an alien worker facing a deportation case.
Wiseman turned down a motion for reconsideration filed by Pablo Gacayan Mendoza, a Filipino farmer convicted for beating up his former girlfriend and for driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Wiseman set for Jan. 12, 2006 at 1:30pm a hearing to show cause why Mendoza should not be deported from the Commonwealth.
The judge said in light of his ruling on the same legal issue in a separate case, he will similarly reject each of Mendoza’s claims for reconsideration to the extent that they incorporate by reference the arguments proferred by the respondents in the other case.
Court records show that the CNMI government moved for Mendoza’s deportation because of his conviction of two misdemeanor cases.
During the Nov. 17, 2005 hearing, Mendoza, through counsel Stephen C. Woodruff, expressed that his request for voluntary departure was still pending in before the Attorney General without official disposition.
Assistant Attorney General Ian Catlett responded that the respondent’s request for voluntary departure was denied.
Mendoza asserted that his request for discretionary voluntary departure from the AG was still pending. He also argued that his case engages issues which mirror those raised in two other cases, which were pending before Wiseman at the time of the filing of his motion.
In denying the motion, Wiseman ruled that the AGO has voiced its rejection of Mendoza’s application for voluntary departure on at least two occasions in open court.
“Therefore, this court, especially in light of the following discussion acknowledges that the Attorney General, by and through its prosecutors, has rejected respondent’s plea for discretionary voluntary departure,” Wiseman said.
