[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2370 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2370

  To amend the Organic Act of Guam for the purposes of clarifying the 
      local judicial structure and the office of Attorney General.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 1997

     Mr. Underwood (for himself, Mr. Miller of California, and Mr. 
 Abercrombie) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Organic Act of Guam for the purposes of clarifying the 
      local judicial structure and the office of Attorney General.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Guam Judicial Empowerment Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. JUDICIAL AUTHORITY; SUPREME COURT OF GUAM.

    (a) Judicial Authority; Courts.--Section 22(a) of the Organic Act 
of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a)(1) The judicial authority of Guam shall be vested in a court 
established by Congress designated as the `District Court of Guam', and 
a judicial branch of Guam which shall constitute a unified judicial 
system and include an appellate court designated as the `Supreme Court 
of Guam', a trial court designated as the `Superior Court of Guam', and 
such other lower local courts as may have been or shall hereafter be 
established by the laws of Guam.
    ``(2) The Supreme Court of Guam may, by rules of such court, create 
divisions of the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court of Guam, and 
other local courts of Guam.
    ``(3) The courts of record for Guam shall be the District Court of 
Guam, the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court of Guam (except the 
Traffic and Small Claims divisions of the Superior Court of Guam) and 
any other local courts or divisions of local courts that the Supreme 
Court of Guam shall designate.''.
    (b) Jurisdiction and Powers of Local Courts.--Section 22A of the 
Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-1) is amended to read as follows:
    ``Sec. 22A. (a) The Supreme Court of Guam shall be the highest 
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 over which a court established by the United States 
        Constitution and laws of the United States does not have 
        exclusive jurisdiction;
            ``(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 in Guam;
            ``(5) hear and determine appeals by a panel of three 
        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, 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.
    ``(b) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam--
            ``(1) shall preside over the Supreme Court unless 
        disqualified or otherwise unable to act;
            ``(2) shall be the administrative head of, and have general 
        supervisory power over, all departments, divisions, and other 
        instrumentalities of the judicial branch of Guam; and
            ``(3) may issue such administrative orders on behalf of the 
        Supreme Court of Guam as necessary for the efficient 
        administration of the judicial branch of Guam.
    ``(c) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam, or a justice 
sitting in place of such Chief Justice, may make any appropriate order 
with respect to--
            ``(1) an appeal prior to the hearing and determination of 
        that appeal on the merits; or
            ``(2) dismissal of an appeal for lack of jurisdiction or 
        failure to take or prosecute the appeal in accordance with 
        applicable laws or rules of procedure.
    ``(d) Except as granted to the Supreme Court of Guam or otherwise 
provided by this Act or any other Act of Congress, the Superior Court 
of Guam and all other local courts established by the laws of Guam 
shall have such original and appellate jurisdiction as the laws of Guam 
provide.
    ``(e) The qualifications and duties of the justices and judges of 
the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court of Guam, and all other 
local courts established by the laws of Guam shall be governed by the 
laws of Guam and the rules of such courts.''.
    (c) Technical Amendments.--(1) Section 22B of the Organic Act of 
Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-2) is amended--
            (A) by inserting ``which is known as the Supreme Court of 
        Guam,'' after ``appellate court authorized by section 22A(a) of 
        this Act,''; and
            (B) by striking ``Interior and Insular Affairs'' and 
        inserting ``Resources''.
    (2) Section 22C(a) of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-3) is 
amended by inserting ``which is known as the Supreme Court of Guam,'' 
after ``appellate court authorized by section 22A(a) of this Act,''.
    (3) Section 22C(d) of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-3) is 
amended--
            (A) by inserting ``, which is known as the Supreme Court of 
        Guam,'' after ``appellate court provided for in section 22A(a) 
        of this Act''; and
            (B) by striking ``taken to the appellate court'' and 
        inserting ``taken to such appellate court''.

SEC. 3. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF GUAM.

    Section 29 of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) The Government of Guam may establish by law an Office of the 
Attorney General of Guam within the executive branch of the Government 
of Guam. Such law shall--
            ``(1) provide for the Attorney General of Guam to be--
                    ``(A) appointed by the Governor, with the advice 
                and consent of the legislature, for a term ending when 
                a successor is appointed and qualified; or
                    ``(B) elected by the people of Guam at the same 
                time, for the same term, and subject to removal in the 
                same manner as provided for the Office of Governor of 
                Guam; and
            ``(2) set forth the duties and compensation of the Attorney 
        General of Guam.''.
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