Title 48 — Territories and Insular PossessionsRelease 119-73
§1821 District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Title 48 › Chapter CHAPTER 17— - NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - JUDICIAL MATTERS › § 1821
Summary
Creates a federal district court for the Northern Mariana Islands. The court is part of the same judicial circuit as Guam. Court sessions must be held on Saipan and anywhere else the court sets by rule or order. The President, with Senate approval, must appoint a judge for a ten-year term who serves until a successor is qualified or is removed for cause. That judge gets the same salary as U.S. district judges. The Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit (or the Chief Justice of the United States with consent) can temporarily assign qualified local or federal judges to help. Those temporary judges have the same powers, including making statutory appointments and naming depositaries or newspapers for notices. The President must also appoint, with Senate approval, a U.S. attorney and a U.S. marshal for the Islands; their offices follow chapters 35 and 37 of title 28. Federal rules of procedure and parts of titles 11, 18, and 28 apply to the court and its appeals, except as limited by articles IV and V of the Covenant approved March 24, 1976. In criminal cases under local law, the terms “Attorney for the government” and “United States attorney” can mean the Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands or other locally authorized persons.
Full Legal Text
Title 48, §1821
Territories and Insular Possessions — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)There is established for and within the Northern Mariana Islands a court of record to be known as the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. The Northern Mariana Islands shall constitute a part of the same judicial circuit of the United States as Guam. Terms of court shall be held on Saipan and at such other places and at such times as the court may designate by rule or order.
(b)(1)The President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands who shall hold office for the term of ten years and until his successor is chosen and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President for cause. The judge shall receive a salary payable by the United States which shall be at the rate prescribed for judges of the United States district courts.
(2)The Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of the United States may assign justices of the High Court of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands or judges of courts of record of the Northern Mariana Islands who are licensed attorneys in good standing or a circuit or district judge of the ninth circuit, including a judge of the District Court of Guam who is appointed by the President or a recalled senior judge of the District Court of Guam or of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Chief Justice of the United States may assign any other United States circuit or district judge with the consent of the judge so assigned and of the chief judge of his circuit to serve temporarily as a judge in the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands whenever such an assignment is necessary for the proper dispatch of the business of the court. Such judges shall have all the powers of a judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, including the power to appoint any person to a statutory position, or to designate a depository of funds or a newspaper for publication of legal notices.
(3)The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a United States attorney and United States marshal for the Northern Mariana Islands to whose offices the provisions of chapters 35 and 37 of title 28, respectively, shall apply.
(4)If the President appoints a judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands or a United States attorney or a United States marshal for the Northern Mariana Islands who at that time is serving in the same capacity in another district, the appointment shall, without prejudice to a subsequent appointment, be for the unexpired term of such judge or officer.
(c)Where appropriate, and except as otherwise provided in articles IV and V of the Covenant approved by the Act of March 24, 1976 (90 Stat. 263), the provisions of part II of title 18 and of titles 11 So in original. 28, the rules of practice and procedure heretofore or hereafter promulgated and made effective by the Congress or the Supreme Court of the United States pursuant to titles 11, 18, and 28 shall apply to the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands and appeals therefrom; except that the terms “Attorney for the government” and “United States attorney”, as used in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall, when applicable to cases arising under the laws of the Northern Mariana Islands, include the Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands or such other person or persons as may be authorized by the laws of the Northern Mariana Islands to act therein.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Covenant, referred to in subsec. (c), is the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, which is contained in section 1 of Pub. L. 94–241, set out as a note under section 1801 of this title. Act of March 24, 1976, referred to in subsec. (c), is Pub. L. 94–241, Mar. 24, 1976, 90 Stat. 263, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 1801 et seq.) of this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to in subsec. (c), are set out in the Appendix to Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 1694 of this title.
Amendments
1984—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 98–454, § 901(a), substituted “for a term of ten years” for “for a term of eight years”. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 98–454, § 901(b), inserted “or a recalled senior judge of the District Court of Guam or of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands” after “President” in first sentence. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–454, § 901(c), amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: “The provisions of chapters 43 and 49 of title 28, and the rules heretofore or hereafter promulgated and made effective by the Congress or the Supreme Court of the United States pursuant to titles 11, 18, and 28 shall apply to the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands and appeals therefrom where appropriate, except as otherwise provided in articles IV and V of the covenant provided by the Act of March 24, 1976 (90 Stat. 263). The terms ‘attorney for the government’ and ‘United States attorney’ as used in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (rule 54(c)) shall, when applicable to cases arising under the laws of the Northern Mariana Islands, include the attorney general of the Northern Mariana Islands or any other person or persons as may be authorized by the laws of the Northern Marianas to act therein.”
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–454 effective on ninetieth day following Oct. 5, 1984, see section 1005 of Pub. L. 98–454, set out as a note under section 1424 of this title.
Effective Date
For
Effective Date
of this section, see section 1825 of this title and
Effective Date
of Constitution note thereunder. Extension of Term of District JudgesExtension of term of district court judges to ten years applicable to judges holding office on Oct. 5, 1984, see section 1004 of Pub. L. 98–454, set out as a note under section 1424b of this title.
Executive Documents
Termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, see note set out preceding section 1681 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
48 U.S.C. § 1821
Title 48 — Territories and Insular Possessions
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73