(a) Any charges against any Justice or Judge must be in writing, signed by the person making the charge under oath, except that any charge initiated by the subcommittee must be signed by at least two (2) members of the subcommittee. The subcommittee shall notify in writing every Justice or Judge against whom a charge is received and afford the Justice or Judge an opportunity to explain the charge. The subcommittee shall investigate all charges on a confidential basis, having available all the powers herein provided, and the proceedings shall not be public. If a majority of the members of the subcommittee determine that there is probable cause for belief that a Justice or Judge appears to be so incapacitated as substantially to prevent the Justice or Judge from performing judicial duties or has acted in a manner that constitutes willful misconduct in office, willful and persistent failure to perform judicial duties, habitual intemperance, or conduct so prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute, the subcommittee shall certify its findings to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or to the most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court if the Chief Justice is the subject of the charges, within thirty (30) days after such determination. (b) Any Council member or individual, including the individual making the charge, who divulges information concerning the charge prior to the certification of the charge by the subcommittee to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or if the investigation discloses that the certification should not be issued by the subcommittee, any Council member or individual who divulges at any time any information concerning the original charge or divulges the contents or discloses any matter except as permitted by this Title, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (c) In the event that the subcommittee determines that a Judge or Justice should be removed from office, the Attorney General shall present the case to the Supreme Court pursuant to the provisions of § 5107, infra. 2025 NOTE: Procedural and local rules of court, including the current version of the Guam Rules for Judicial Disciplinary Enforcement, may be accessed on the Compiler of Laws website at https://www.guamcourts.org/CompilerofLaws/index.html under the “Court Rules” tab. 2014 NOTE: Judicial discipline is now governed by the Guam Rules of Judicial Disciplinary Enforcement. See Chapter 5, 2014 Note.
COL 2025-08-27
1985 SOURCE: CCP § 124, modified. 1985 COMMENT: Basically follows prior law, but specifies that the Attorney General act as prosecutor. This function would be similar to the Attorney General’s role before a Grand Jury, except that the Commission, working with him, makes the actual decision to bring or continue charges. The Attorney General could also prefer charges to the Commission. There would be no conflict, since it is he who determines what to bring before Grand Juries, and then prosecutes. This is a better method than that used by the Bar Ethics Committee, since the Attorney General has the personnel and mechanisms for investigations and prosecutions already in place.