Title 48 — Territories and Insular PossessionsRelease 119-73
§1424 District Court of Guam; local courts; jurisdiction
Title 48 › Chapter CHAPTER 8A— - GUAM › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - THE JUDICIARY › § 1424
Summary
Congress created the District Court of Guam and Guam has one unified court system. That system includes an appeals court called the Supreme Court of Guam, a trial court called the Superior Court of Guam, and any other local courts Guam laws create. The Supreme Court of Guam can set up divisions of the Superior Court and other local courts. Courts of record are the District Court, the Supreme Court, the Superior Court (except its Traffic and Small Claims divisions), and any local courts the Supreme Court names. The District Court of Guam has the same powers as a U.S. district court, including diversity jurisdiction under section 1332 of title 28, and it also has the powers of a U.S. bankruptcy court. It also hears original Guam cases when the Guam legislature has not given those cases to another local court. When a case is in the District Court only for that reason, the District Court is treated as a Guam-established court for deciding whether a grand jury indictment or a jury trial is required.
Full Legal Text
Title 48, §1424
Territories and Insular Possessions — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(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 branch 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 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)The District Court of Guam shall have the jurisdiction of a district court of the United States, including, but not limited to, the diversity jurisdiction provided for in section 1332 of title 28, and that of a bankruptcy court of the United States.
(c)In addition to the jurisdiction described in subsection (b), the District Court of Guam shall have original jurisdiction in all other causes in Guam, jurisdiction over which is not then vested by the legislature in another court or other courts established by it. In causes brought in the district court solely on the basis of this subsection, the district court shall be considered a court established by the laws of Guam for the purpose of determining the requirements of indictment by grand jury or trial by jury.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2004—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–378 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: “The judicial authority of Guam shall be vested in a court of record established by Congress, designated the ‘District Court of Guam,’ and such local court or courts as may have been or shall hereafter be established by the laws of Guam in conformity with section 1424–1 of this title.” 1984—Pub. L. 98–454 amended section generally, striking out language which directed that no provisions of any rules which authorized or required trial by jury or the prosecution of offenses by indictment by a grand jury instead of by information be applicable to the District Court of Guam unless and until made so applicable by laws enacted by the Legislature of Guam, repealed that portion of section 1 of act Aug. 27, 1954, which had inserted such language originally, repealed section 335 of Pub. L. 95–598, which had amended this section, and transferred out of this section into sections 1424–1 to 1424–4, with
Amendments
, the remaining provisions formerly set out in this section relating to the creation, jurisdiction, and rules governing procedure in the Guam judicial system. 1978—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95–598, § 335(a), inserted “and a bankruptcy court”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–598, § 335(b), substituted “section 2075 of title 28, in cases under title 11,” for “section 53 of title 11, in bankruptcy cases;”. 1958—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85–444 provided that the District Court of Guam shall have jurisdiction in all causes arising under the Constitution, treaties, and laws of the United States, regardless of the sum or value of the matter in controversy, and to insert the paragraph requiring appeals to the District Court to be heard and determined by an appellate division. 1954—Subsec. (b). Act Aug. 27, 1954, inserted provisions making it clear that trial by jury or the prosecution of offenses by indictment by a grand jury instead of by information shall not be required in the District Court of Guam until so required by laws enacted by the Legislature of Guam; and defining the terms “attorney for the government”, and “United States attorney”, as used in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, when applicable to cases arising under the laws of Guam.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1984 Amendment Pub. L. 98–454, title X, § 1005, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1746, provided that: “Titles VII, VIII, IX, and X of this Act [enacting sections 1424–1 to 1424–4, 1493, and 1613a of this title, repealing section 1400 of this title, amending this section and section 1424b, 1561, 1611, 1612, 1613, 1614, 1615, 1617, 1694, and 1821 to 1824 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 1424b, 1612, and 1614 of this title and section 373 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure] shall become effective on the ninetieth day following their enactment [Oct. 5, 1984].”
Effective Date
of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by section 335(b) of Pub. L. 95–598 effective Oct. 1, 1979, see section 402(a) of Pub. L. 95–598, set out as an
Effective Date
note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy. Pub. L. 95–598, title IV, § 402(e), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2682, which provided a prospective
Effective Date
for the amendment of subsec. (a) by section 335(a) of Pub. L. 95–598, was repealed by section 1001 of Pub. L. 98–454.
Effective Date
of 1954 AmendmentAct Aug. 27, 1954, ch. 1017, § 2, 68 Stat. 883, provided that: “The amendment made by section 1 [amending this section] shall be deemed to be in effect as of
August 1, 1950.” SeparabilityAct Aug. 27, 1954, ch. 1017, § 4, 68 Stat. 883, provided: “If any particular provision of this Act [amending this section and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section], or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.” Nonreversal of Convictions Prior to
August 27, 1954Act Aug. 27, 1954, ch. 1017, § 3, 68 Stat. 883, provided: “No conviction of a defendant in a criminal proceeding in the District Court of Guam heretofore had shall be reversed or set aside on the ground that the defendant was not indicted by a grand jury or tried by a petit jury.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
48 U.S.C. § 1424
Title 48 — Territories and Insular Possessions
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73