Ramona Villagomez Manglona Explained

Ramona Villagomez Manglona
Office:Chief Judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Term Start:July 29, 2011
Predecessor:Alex R. Munson
Office1:Judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Appointer1:Barack Obama
Term Start1:July 29, 2011
Predecessor1:Alex R. Munson
Office2:Associate Judge of the Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court
Nominator2:Juan Babauta
Term Start2:May 2003
Term End2:July 2011
Predecessor2:Roberto Camacho Naraja
Successor2:Joe Camacho
Office3:16th Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands
Governor3:Juan Babauta
Term Start3:November 2002
Term End3:May 2003
Predecessor3:Robert Tenorio Torres
Successor3:Clyde Lemons Jr. (Acting)
Birth Name:Ramona Emma Pangelinan Villagomez[1]
Birth Date:26 February 1967
Birth Place:Saipan, Mariana Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Party:Independent
Spouse:John A. Manglona
Children:2
Education:University of California, Berkeley (BA)
University of New Mexico (JD)

Ramona Villagomez Manglona (; née Ramona Emma Pangelinan Villagomez; born February 26, 1967) is the United States chief judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.[2]

Early life and education

Manglona was born February 26, 1967, on Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Japanese. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1996.[3]

Career

Prior to attending law school, Manglona worked in her family's real estate management business. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk for two of the judges of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. She then joined the Office of the Attorney General, serving first in the criminal division and later in the civil division. She became Deputy Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands early in 2002 and became the first female Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands in November 2002. She was appointed to the Superior Court in May 2003 and resigned from that post in June 2011 to take up her current post in the District Court.[3] Her successor as judge, Joseph James Norita Camacho, was sworn into office as a judge on November 19, 2011.[4]

District court service

On January 26, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Manglona to the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on her nomination on March 16, 2011, and reported her nomination favorably on April 7, 2011.[5] On July 26, 2011, the Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote. She received her commission on July 29, 2011, and took her oath of office on July 30, 2011.[6] Her commission expired on July 28, 2021, at which time her term would have ended, although by rule it continued until she was either reappointed or her successor chosen and qualified.[7]

On August 30, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to reappoint Manglona as a judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.[8] On September 11, 2023, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[9] On November 15, 2023, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[10] On December 7, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 20–1 vote.[11] [12] On January 3, 2024, her nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate[13] and she was renominated on January 8, 2024.[14] On January 18, 2024, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 21–0 vote.[15] [16] On April 15, 2024, the United States Senate voted on the motion to table her nomination and it failed by a 39–50 vote.[17] Later that day, cloture was invoked on her nomination by an 84–3 vote.[18] On April 16, 2024, her nomination was confirmed by a 96–2 vote.[19]

On June 26, 2024, Manglona heard the high-profile plea deal case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.[20] [21] [22] She approved the plea deal, which had been negotiated with Assange's lawyers by the U.S. Department of Justice, and sentenced Assange to prison time already served in the United Kingdom. Assange was freed immediately and left Saipan for Australia.

Personal life

Manglona is married to John A. Manglona, an associate justice of the Northern Mariana Islands Supreme Court since 2000. They have two children.[3]

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. March 16, 2011.
  2. http://www.mvariety.com/2011080439095/local-news/federal-judge-manglona-hears-cases.php{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  3. Web site: Judge Manglona's Biography. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111005085924/http://www.justice.gov.mp/judges.aspx. 2011-10-05.
  4. News: De La Torre. Ferdie. Camacho takes his oath in Carolinian-a first. November 19, 2011. Saipan Tribune. May 16, 2024. Camacho, 42, is the first judge of Carolinian descent to be elevated to the CNMI Courts..
  5. Web site: Congress.gov - Library of Congress. thomas.loc.gov. 2011-07-25. 2011-12-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20111214085739/http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php. dead.
  6. Web site: Saipan Tribune . 2011-08-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120614121926/http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=111474 . 2012-06-14 .
  7. Web site: 48 U.S. Code § 1821(b)(1). Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. 15 November 2020.
  8. President Biden Names Thirty-Seventh Round of Judicial Nominees and Announces One New Nominee to Serve as U.S. Marshal . August 30, 2023 . The White House . Washington, D.C. . August 30, 2023.
  9. Nominations Sent to the Senate . September 11, 2023 . The White House . Washington, D.C. .
  10. Web site: Nominations. November 14, 2023. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Washington, D.C..
  11. Web site: Results of Executive Business Meeting – December 7, 2023. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. December 8, 2023.
  12. News: Weiss. Benjamin S.. Despite partisan rumblings, Senate forges ahead with court nominees. Courthouse News. December 7, 2023.
  13. Web site: January 3, 2024 . PN1021 — Ramona Villagomez Manglona — The Judiciary. January 9, 2024 . congress.gov.
  14. Nominations Sent to the Senate . January 8, 2024 . The White House . Washington, D.C. .
  15. Web site: Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2024. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. January 19, 2024.
  16. Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Twenty Judicial Nominations, One Executive Nomination to the Full Senate . January 18, 2024 . United States Senate Judiciary Committee . January 18, 2024.
  17. Web site: On the Motion to Table (Motion to Table: Ramona Villagomez Manglona to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands). United States Senate. April 15, 2024. April 15, 2024.
  18. Web site: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Ramona Villagomez Manglona to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands). United States Senate. April 15, 2024. April 15, 2024.
  19. Web site: On the Nomination (Confirmation: Ramona Villagomez Manglona, of the Northern Mariana Islands, to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands). United States Senate. April 16, 2024. April 16, 2024.
  20. News: Julian Assange live news: WikiLeaks founder pleads guilty and awaits sentencing in Saipan district courtroom. The Guardian. 26 June 2024. 26 June 2024.
  21. Web site: Why is Julian Assange headed to the little-known island of Saipan? . 2024-06-25 . SBS News . en . the hearing is to take place there because of Assange's opposition to travelling to the continental US, and the court's proximity to Australia… Assange is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing on the island of Saipan at 9am local time (9am AEST) on Wednesday… Saipan Tribune reports Assange will appear before chief judge Ramona Villagomez Manglona….
  22. Web site: Julian Assange leaves UK after reaching plea deal with US . 2024-06-25 . The Irish News (US) . MSN . A letter to the United States chief judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands Ramona V Manglona, as seen by the PA news agency, also confirmed Assange intends to return to Australia once proceedings conclude..