Guam Supreme Court

Guam Supreme Court
Court Information
Justices: 3
Founded: 1992
Judicial Selection
Method: Gubernatorial appointment
Term: 10 years

The Guam Supreme Court is Guam's court of last resort. The court consists of a chief justice and two associate justices.The current chief justice is F. Philip Carbullido.

Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court of Guam hears appeals from the Superior Court.

The following text from Subchapter 4 of the Organic Act of Guam covers the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court:

“	Local Courts; Appellate Court Authorized (a) 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.	”
—Organic Act of Guam, Subchapter 4

Justices

The table below lists the current justices of the Guam Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office.

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Office	Name	Party	Date assumed office
Guam Supreme Court	F. Philip Carbullido	Nonpartisan	2000
Guam Supreme Court	Katherine A. Maraman	Nonpartisan	2008
Guam Supreme Court	Robert J. Torres Jr.	Nonpartisan	2004

Judicial selection

Qualifications

Title 7, Chapter 3 of the Guam Code Annotated gives the qualifications for Supreme Court justices.

“	Nomination, Appointment, Eligibility and Tenure of Justices and Judges. (a) I Maga’lahen Guåhan [The Governor of Guam], with the advice and consent of I Liheslaturan Guåhan [the Legislature], shall appoint a qualified person to each of the positions of Justice created by this Title; and subject to the advice and consent of I Liheslaturan Guåhan, appoint a qualified person to any vacancy occurring in either the Supreme Court or the Superior Court of Guam, and to any newly created position of Justice or Judge authorized by statute. The Judicial Council and the Guam Bar Association may each submit a list of qualified nominees for I Maga’lahen Guåhan’s [the Governor's] consideration. No sitting Judge of the Superior Court of Guam shall be excluded from the pool of nominees for the Supreme Court of Guam. (b) [Repealed by P.L. 27-31:10] (c) The Chief Justice and each Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam shall be a United States citizen, a bona-fide resident of Guam for at least five (5) years and shall have been in the active practice of law on Guam for a period of at least ten (10) years before said nomination. The Presiding Judge and each other Judge of the Superior Court of Guam shall be a United States citizen, a bona-fide resident of Guam for at least five (5) years and shall be in the active practice of law on Guam for a period of seven (7) years before said nomination.	”
—Guam Code Annotated: Title 7, Chapter 3 Supreme Court of Guam

Elections

Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. The term of office is ten years. Justices must stand for retention in the general election immediately preceding the end of their term.

2024

See also: Guam Supreme Court elections, 2024

The term of one Guam Supreme Court justice will expire on January 31, 2025. The one seat was up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was September 6, 2024.

Retention election

Robert J. Torres Jr.'s seat

Guam Supreme Court

Robert J. Torres Jr. was retained to the Guam Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 88.6% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	88.6	22,360
			No	11.4	2,879
			Total Votes		25,239

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Source

2020

See also: Guam Supreme Court elections, 2020

Guam Supreme Court, Retention election for F. Philip Carbullido

F. Philip Carbullido was retained to the Guam Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 90.1% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	90.1	22,479
			No	9.9	2,474
			Total Votes		24,953

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It has been certified. Source

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Guam Judiciary website