48 USC 1424 - District Court of Guam; local courts; jurisdiction

Collapse to view only § 1424. District Court of Guam; local courts; jurisdiction

§ 1424. District Court of Guam; local courts; jurisdiction
§ 1424-1. Jurisdiction and powers of local courts
§ 1424-2. Relations between courts of United States and courts of Guam
§ 1424-3. Appellate jurisdiction of District Court; procedure; review by United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit; rules; appeals to appellate court
§ 1424-4. Criminal offenses; procedure; definitions
§ 1424a. Repealed.
§ 1424b. Judge of District Court; appointment, tenure, removal, and compensation; appointment of United States attorney and marshal
§ 1424c. Review of claims respecting land on Guam

§ 1424. District Court of Guam; local courts; jurisdiction

(a) District Court of Guam; unified court system

(1) The judicial authority of Guam shall be vested in a court established by Congress designated as the “District Court of Guam”, and a judicial branch of Guam which branch shall constitute a unified judicial system and include an appellate court designated as the “Supreme Court of Guam”, a trial court designated as the “Superior Court of Guam”, and such other lower local courts as may have been or shall hereafter be established by the laws of Guam.

(2) The Supreme Court of Guam may, by rules of such court, create divisions of the Superior Court of Guam and other local courts of Guam.

(3) The courts of record for Guam shall be the District Court of Guam, the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court of Guam (except the Traffic and Small Claims divisions of the Superior Court of Guam) and any other local courts or divisions of local courts that the Supreme Court of Guam shall designate.

(b) Jurisdiction

(Aug. 1, 1950, ch. 512, § 22, 64 Stat. 389; Aug. 27, 1954, ch. 1017, § 1, 68 Stat. 882; Pub. L. 85–444, §§ 1, 2, June 4, 1958, 72 Stat. 178, 179; Pub. L. 95–598, title III, § 335, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2680; Pub. L. 98–454, title VIII, §§ 801, 803, title X, § 1001, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1741, 1743, 1745; Pub. L. 108–378, § 1(a), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2206.)

§ 1424–1. Jurisdiction and powers of local courts

(a) Supreme Court of Guam

The Supreme Court of Guam shall be the highest court of the judicial branch of Guam (excluding the District Court of Guam) and shall—

(1) have original jurisdiction over proceedings necessary to protect its appellate jurisdiction and supervisory authority and such other original jurisdiction as the laws of Guam may provide;

(2) have jurisdiction to hear appeals over any cause in Guam decided by the Superior Court of Guam or other courts established under the laws of Guam;

(3) have jurisdiction to issue all orders and writs in aid of its appellate, supervisory, and original jurisdiction, including those orders necessary for the supervision of the judicial branch of Guam;

(4) have supervisory jurisdiction over the Superior Court of Guam and all other courts of the judicial branch of Guam;

(5) hear and determine appeals by a panel of three of the justices of the Supreme Court of Guam and a concurrence of two such justices shall be necessary to a decision of the Supreme Court of Guam on the merits of an appeal;

(6) make and promulgate rules governing the administration of the judiciary and the practice and procedure in the courts of the judicial branch of Guam, including procedures for the determination of an appeal en banc; and

(7) govern attorney and judicial ethics and the practice of law in Guam, including admission to practice law and the conduct and discipline of persons admitted to practice law.

(b) Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Guam

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam—

(1) shall preside over the Supreme Court unless disqualified or unable to act;

(2) shall be the administrative head of, and have general supervisory power over, all departments, divisions, and other instrumentalities of the judicial branch of Guam; and

(3) may issue such administrative orders on behalf of the Supreme Court of Guam as necessary for the efficient administration of the judicial branch of Guam.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam, or a justice sitting in place of such Chief Justice, may make any appropriate order with respect to—

(1) an appeal prior to the hearing and determination of that appeal on the merits; or

(2) dismissal of an appeal for lack of jurisdiction or failure to take or prosecute the appeal in accordance with applicable laws or rules of procedure.

(d) Other local courts

(e) Qualifications and duties of justices and judges

(Aug. 1, 1950, ch. 512, § 22A, as added Pub. L. 98–454, title VIII, § 801, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1742; amended Pub. L. 108–378, § 1(b), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2206.)

§ 1424–2. Relations between courts of United States and courts of Guam

The relations between the courts established by the Constitution or laws of the United States and the local courts of Guam with respect to appeals, certiorari, removal of causes, the issuance of writs of habeas corpus, and other matters or proceedings shall be governed by the laws of the United States pertaining to the relations between the courts of the United States, including the Supreme Court of the United States, and the courts of the several States in such matters and proceedings.

(Aug. 1, 1950, ch. 512, § 22B, as added Pub. L. 98–454, title VIII, § 801, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1742; amended Pub. L. 103–437, § 17(a)(1), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4595; Pub. L. 108–378, § 2, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2208.)

§ 1424–3. Appellate jurisdiction of District Court; procedure; review by United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit; rules; appeals to appellate court

(a) Appellate jurisdiction of District Court

(b) Appellate division of District Court; quorum; presiding judge; designation of judges; decisions

(d) Appeals to appellate court; effect on District Court

(Aug. 1, 1950, ch. 512, § 22C, as added Pub. L. 98–454, title VIII, § 801, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1742; amended Pub. L. 108–378, § 1(c), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2207.)

§ 1424–4. Criminal offenses; procedure; definitions

Where appropriate, the provisions of part II of title 18 and of title 28, United States Code, and notwithstanding the provision in rule 54(a) Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure relating to the prosecution of criminal offenses on Guam by information, the rules of practice and procedure heretofore or hereafter promulgated and made effective by the Congress or the Supreme Court of the United States pursuant to titles 11, 18, and 28, United States Code, shall apply to the District Court of Guam and appeals therefrom; except that the terms, “Attorney for the government” and “United States attorney”, as used in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall, when applicable to cases arising under the laws of Guam, including the Guam Territorial income tax, mean the Attorney General of Guam or such other person or persons as may be authorized by the laws of Guam to act therein.

(Aug. 1, 1950, ch. 512, § 22D, as added Pub. L. 98–454, title VIII, § 801, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1743.)

§ 1424a. Repealed. Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, § 56(e), 65 Stat. 729

§ 1424b. Judge of District Court; appointment, tenure, removal, and compensation; appointment of United States attorney and marshal

(a) The President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a judge for the District Court of Guam who shall hold office for the term of ten years and until his successor is chosen and qualified unless sooner removed by the President for cause. The judge shall receive a salary payable by the United States which shall be at the rate prescribed for judges of the United States district courts.

The Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of the United States may assign a judge of a local court of record or a judge of the High Court of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands or a circuit or district judge of the ninth circuit or a recalled senior judge of the District Court of Guam or of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Chief Justice of the United States may assign any other United States circuit or district judge with the consent of the judge so assigned and of the chief judge of his circuit, to serve temporarily as a judge in the District Court of Guam whenever it is made to appear that such an assignment is necessary for the proper dispatch of the business of the court.

(b) The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a United States attorney and United States marshal for Guam to whose offices the provisions of chapters 35 and 37 of title 28, respectively, shall apply.

(Aug. 1, 1950, ch. 512, § 24, 64 Stat. 390; Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, § 55(a), 65 Stat. 728; Pub. L. 85–444, § 3, June 4, 1958, 72 Stat. 179; Pub. L. 98–454, title VIII, § 802, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1743.)

§ 1424c. Review of claims respecting land on Guam

(a) Jurisdiction

(b) Acquisitions effected through condemnation proceedings

(d) Employment of special masters or judges

(e) Awards

(f) Limitation on attorney’s fees; violation; penalty

(g) Availability of documents, records, and writings to court

(Pub. L. 95–134, title II, § 204, Oct. 15, 1977, 91 Stat. 1162; Pub. L. 96–205, title III, § 301(a), Mar. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 87.)