View source for District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands

{{Short description|United States territorial court}}
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}}
{{Infobox U.S. federal court
| court_type        = tribunal
| court_name        = District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
| abbreviation      = D. N. Mar. I.
| seal              = District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands Seal.png
| seal_size         = 150
| map_image_name    =
| map_image_width   =
| map_image_caption =
| courthouse        = 
| location          = [[Saipan]]
| appeals_to        = [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit]]
| established       = 1977
| authority         = Article IV
| created_by        = {{UnitedStatesCode|48|1821|1826}}
| composition       = [[President of the United States|Presidential]] nomination<br>with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| judges_assigned   = 1
| term_length       = 10 years (and until successor is chosen and qualified)<ref name=term /> 
| chief             = [[Ramona Villagomez Manglona]]
| us_attorney       = Shawn N. Anderson
| us_marshal        = Fernando L. G. Sablan
| official_site     = {{URL|http://www.nmid.uscourts.gov/}}
}}

The '''District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands'''<ref name=USC1821>{{cite web|title=48 U.S. Code § 1821 - District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/48/1821|website=[[Legal Information Institute]]|publisher=Cornell Law School|access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref> (in case citations, '''D. N. Mar. I.''') is a federal [[United States territorial court|territorial court]] whose [[jurisdiction]] comprises the United States-affiliated [[Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands]] (CNMI). It was established by Act of Congress in 1977, pursuant to an international agreement between the United States and the CNMI that brought the CNMI under United States sovereignty. The court began hearing cases in January 1978. The court regularly sits in [[Saipan]] but may sit elsewhere in the CNMI. The court has the same jurisdiction as [[United States district court]]s, including [[diversity jurisdiction]] and [[Bankruptcy in the United States|bankruptcy jurisdiction]]. However, the District Court is not an [[Article I and Article III tribunals|Article III]] U.S. District Court, and because of that its judge is appointed for a 10-year term<ref name=term>{{cite web|title=48 U.S. Code § 1821(b)(1)|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/48/1821|website=[[Legal Information Institute]]|publisher=Cornell Law School|access-date=15 November 2020}}</ref> instead of [[life tenure|for life]]. Appeals are taken to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit]].

Like most federal judges, judges in this court are appointed by the [[President of the United States|president]], subject to [[United States Senate|Senate]] confirmation.  Judges may serve more than one term, subject to the standard nominating process.

The United States is represented in civil and criminal litigation in the court by the [[United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands|United States Attorney's Office for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands]].

The first District Judge appointed was [[Alfred Laureta]], who served from 1978 until 1988. His successor, [[Alex R. Munson]], was nominated by President [[Ronald Reagan]], and confirmed by the Senate in 1988. Munson was nominated for a second ten-year term by President [[Bill Clinton]] and was confirmed by the Senate in 1998.  He took [[senior status]] effective February 28, 2010.<ref name="de la Torre">{{cite web |url=http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=95532 |title=Munson tells Obama he is retiring in Feb. |author=Ferdie de la Torre |date=December 2, 2009 |work=Saipan Tribune |access-date=2010-07-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091220034132/http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=95532&cat=1 |archive-date=2009-12-20 }}</ref> On January 26, 2011, President Obama nominated [[Ramona Villagomez Manglona]] to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands for a term of ten years. The U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote on July 26, 2011, and she received her commission on July 29, 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=111474 | publisher=Saipan Tribune | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614121926/http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=111474 | archive-date=June 14, 2012 | date=August 1, 2011 | title=Manglona takes oath as district court Chief Judge | author=Ferdie de la Torre}}</ref> Her initial ten-year term ended on July 28, 2021, although she was allowed to continue serving until the confirmation of a successor. She was later nominated by President [[Joe Biden]] for a second ten-year term and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 16, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1182/vote_118_2_00127.htm|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation: Ramona Villagomez Manglona, of the Northern Mariana Islands, to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands)|website=United States Senate|date=April 16, 2024|access-date=April 16, 2024}}</ref>

The District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands was established by Pub. L. 95–157, 91 Stat. 1265 (Nov. 8, 1977), and is codified at {{UnitedStatesCode|48|1821}}, a nonpositive law title.

==Current judges==
<onlyinclude>
{{As of|2024|04|16|df=US}}:
{{start U.S. judgeship Current}}
{{U.S. judgeship row Current
 | index        = 3
 | title        = Chief Judge
 | name         = <span data-sort-value="Manglona, Ramona Villagomez">[[Ramona Villagomez Manglona]]</span>
 | duty station = [[Saipan]]
 | born         = 1967
 | term         = 2011–present
 | chief term   = 2011–present
 | senior term  = —
 | appointer    = <span data-sort-value="Obama, ">[[List of federal judges appointed by Barack Obama| Obama]]</span><br><span data-sort-value="Biden, ">[[List of federal judges appointed by Joe Biden| Biden]]</span> (reappointment)
}}
{{U.S. judgeship row Current
 | index        = 2
 | title        = Senior Judge
 | name         = <span data-sort-value="Munson, Alex R.">[[Alex R. Munson]]</span>
 | duty station = ''inactive''
 | born         = 1941
 | term         = 1988–2011
 | chief term   = 1988–2011
 | senior term  = 2011–present
 | appointer    = <span data-sort-value="Reagan, ">[[List of federal judges appointed by Ronald Reagan| Reagan]]</span><br><span data-sort-value="Clinton, ">[[List of federal judges appointed by Bill Clinton| Clinton]]</span> (reappointment)
}}
{{end U.S. judgeship Current}}</onlyinclude>

== Former judges ==
{{start U.S. judgeship Former}}
{{U.S. judgeship row Former
 | index        = 1
 | name         = <span data-sort-value="Laureta, Alfred">[[Alfred Laureta]]</span>
 | state        = [[Northern Mariana Islands|MP]]
 | borndied     = 1924–2020
 | term         = 1978–1988
 | chief term   = 1978–1988
 | senior term  = —
 | appointer    = <span data-sort-value="Carter, ">[[List of federal judges appointed by Jimmy Carter| Carter]]</span>
 | termination  = Expiration of term
}}
{{end U.S. judgeship Former}}

==See also==
* [[List of current United States district judges]]
* [[List of United States federal courthouses#Northern Mariana Islands|List of United States federal courthouses in the Northern Mariana Islands]]
* [[United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands]]
* [[District Court of Guam]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.nmid.uscourts.gov/ District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands Official Website]

{{United States 9th Circuit district judges}}
{{USDistCourts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Government of the Northern Mariana Islands]]
[[Category:Courts of insular areas of the United States|Northern Mariana Islands]]
[[Category:1977 establishments in the Northern Mariana Islands]]
[[Category:Courts and tribunals established in 1977]]
[[Category:Courthouses in insular areas of the United States|Northen]]