The District Court of Guam[1] (in case citations, D. Guam) is a United States territorial court with jurisdiction over the United States territory of Guam. It sits in the capital, Hagåtña. Appeals of the court's decisions are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It is not an Article III court, and therefore its judges do not have life tenure, but are appointed to ten-year terms.[2]
| Court Type: | tribunal |
| Court Name: | District Court of Guam |
| Abbreviation: | D. Guam |
| Seal: | District Court of Guam seal.gif |
| Seal Size: | 150 |
| Courthouse: | United States Courthouse |
| Location: | Hagåtña, Guam |
| Appeals To: | Ninth Circuit |
| Established: | 1950 |
| Authority: | Article IV |
| Created By: | Guam Organic Act of 1950 |
| Composition: | Presidential nomination with Senate advice and consent |
| Judges Assigned: | 1 |
| Term Length: | 10 years (and until successor is chosen and qualified) |
| Chief: | Frances Tydingco-Gatewood |
| Us Attorney: | Shawn N. Anderson |
| Us Marshal: | Fernando L. G. Sablan |
The District Court of Guam was established in 1950 by the Guam Organic Act to have the same jurisdiction as a United States district court. Under Section 22(a) of the Guam Organic Act, the Court was granted:
In 1951, the Guam Legislature created Commissioners' Courts, the Police Court, and the Island Court, decisions from which were appealable to the District Court. In 1974, the Legislature consolidated these courts into the Guam Superior Court. The legislature also created a Guam Supreme Court to hear appeals from the Superior Court. However, the Ninth Circuit found in 1976 that the appellate jurisdiction of the District Court could not be transferred without authorization by Congress, and the Supreme Court of the United States upheld this ruling in a 5–4 decision in 1977. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the dissenting opinion, in which he argued that Congress had plainly authorized the enactment of the challenged legislation.[3] Further legislation divested the District Court's appellate jurisdiction over local matters in 1994.[4]
The District Court was housed in the Guam Congress Building from 1950 to 1968, in the Courthouse of Guam from 1968 to 1978, in the Pacific News Building from 1978 to 2000, and since then in the United States Courthouse Building.