District Court of Guam

District Court of Guam
Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 1
Judges: 1
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Frances Tydingco-Gatewood
Active judges: Frances Tydingco-Gatewood

The District Court of Guam is a federal court that has jurisdiction over the territory of Guam. It was established by the Organic Act of Guam in 1950. Appeals of the court's decisions are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The court has the same jurisdiction as the United States district courts, including diversity jurisdiction and bankruptcy jurisdiction. Though the court is named "district court," it is not an Article III district court; instead, it is created in accordance with the power granted under Article IV of the United States Constitution.

The judge of the District Court of Guam is an Article IV federal judge who is appointed to a 10-year term, which is renewable. Judges of this court are appointed by the president and are subject to Senate confirmation. Judges may serve more than one term, subject to the standard nominating process.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no vacancies on the United States District Court of Guam. The court has one judicial position.

Pending nominations

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Frances Tydingco-Gatewood	Joe Biden (D)		Marquette University, 1980	University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 1983

Active judges

Article IV judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Frances Tydingco-Gatewood	George W. Bush		Marquette University, 1980	University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 1983

Senior judges

There are no judges matching these criteria.

Magistrate judges

There are no judges matching these criteria.

Jurisdiction

The Island of Guam (click for larger map)

The District Court of Guam has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law as well as bankruptcy cases.

The jurisdiction of the District Court of Guam includes the island of Guam. The only courthouse is located in Hagatna, Guam. Decisions of the court are appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse in San Francisco, California.

Caseloads

Federal Court Caseload Statistics*
Year	Starting case load:	Cases filed:	Total cases:	Cases terminated:	Remaining cases:	Median time (Criminal)**:	Median time (Civil)**:	Three-year civil cases:	Vacant posts:	Trials/Post
2014	195	94	289	139	150	22.2	24.5	9 (19.1%)	0	17
2013	190	103	293	106	187	13.4	16.5	13 (20.6%)	0	10
2012	156	125	281	130	151	36.1	12.7	11 (18.0%)	0.0	9
2011	110	127	237	89	148	11.2	14.3	7 (10.9%)	0.0	34
2010	104	87	191	85	106	8.9	8.9	5 (9.8%)	0.0	7
2009	123	113	236	102	134	9.7	17.5	2 (4.3%)	0.0	8
2008	154	111	265	131	134	6.5	17.4	4 (12.5%)	0.0	19
2007	85	186	271	124	147	5.2	7.0	3 (6.8%)	0.0	7
*All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website and reflect the calendar year through September. **Time in months from filing to completion.

History

The District Court of Guam was created by The Organic Act of Guam, 48 U.S.C. § 1421. The court originally had jurisdiction over local law until Guam's legislature instituted a local court system. The District Court of Guam then became an appellate court for the local courts. In 1974 the Superior Court of Guam was created, which divested the District Court of Guam of all its original jurisdiction over local law, but retained its appellate jurisdiction. In 1994, the Frank G Lujan Memorial Court Reorganization Act created the Supreme Court of Guam and removed the last of the local jurisdiction held by District Court of Guam. The same act granted exclusive federal jurisdiction.

A 1984 amendment, Pub. L. 98–454, § 802, changed the term length of judges from eight years to 10.

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

John S. Unpingco - (1992-2004) Cristobal C. Duenas - (1969-1991) Paul D. Shriver - (1961-1969) Eugene R. Gilmartin - (1959-1961) Paul D. Shriver - (1951-1959)

Former judges

For more information about the judges of the District Court of Guam, see former federal judges of the District Court of Guam.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

External links

• United States District Court of Guam

Footnotes

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