SAIPAN — A Saipan attorney with nearly three decades of practice before the CNMI Superior Court has written to the Senate EAGI Committee in support of Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho’s nomination for Presiding Judge, while sharply criticizing Attorney General Edward Manibusan’s decision to oppose the nomination.
Robert T. Torres, a member of the CNMI Bar since 1996, submitted his letter March 25 to Senate EAGI Committee Chairman Francisco Q. Cruz ahead of the committee’s consideration of the nomination by Governor David M. Apatang.
Torres described Judge Camacho as deliberate, patient and well-suited to manage the administrative demands of the presiding judgeship, including oversight of court staff, coordination with the Supreme Court and court administrator on budgetary matters, and management of a civil and criminal caseload. He cited Camacho’s work presiding over Probate Court, which Torres said involves complex and often unique cases requiring careful attention to family dynamics, creditor claims and individual circumstances.
“While attorneys may often engage in aggressive and zealous advocacy before him, Judge Camacho is deliberate, attentive and patient with all parties,” Torres wrote. “He is balanced and fair.”
Torres also directed pointed criticism at Manibusan, whose letter to the committee argued that Judge Camacho lacks the legal acumen for the role, citing a selection of cases. Torres called the attorney general’s opposition an overreach.
“The Attorney General misapprehends his place in the branches of government,” Torres wrote. “The Office of the Attorney General is not a fourth branch of government as that office would appear to be in this instance.”
Torres disputed the framing of at least one case cited by Manibusan, Commonwealth v. Onopey, in which Torres said he served as court-appointed defense counsel. He said the prosecution sought dismissal without prejudice without good cause, despite statements from the complaining witness asserting that contact was consensual and that she wished to remain in contact with the defendant. Torres said Judge Camacho listened carefully and acted appropriately.
“It was the judiciary and Judge Camacho who spoke to that abuse of power without fear and with absolute clarity,” Torres wrote. “And now the Attorney General comes forward on Judge Camacho’s nomination, when the Court is unable to respond in a public forum, to criticize, denigrate and oppose his nomination because of the thin skin of that office.” Torres called on the committee to confirm Camacho promptly, noting that Governor Apatang has expressed confidence in the nominee and that no executive branch agency represented by the attorney general has filed an objection except the attorney general’s office itself.
