§1424–3 Appellate Jurisdiction of District Court; Procedure; Review by United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit; Rules; Appeals to Appellate Court

Summary

Before Guam creates its own Supreme Court, the District Court of Guam hears appeals from Guam’s local courts in the ways the legislature decides. The legislature cannot stop the court from reviewing cases that involve the U.S. Constitution, treaties, federal laws (including this chapter), actions by U.S. officers or agencies, or whether Guam laws or government actions follow U.S. law. Appeals in the District Court are decided by a three-judge panel. Two judges make a quorum. The district judge leads the panel unless unable to serve and picks the other judges from those assigned to the court, but no more than one can be a judge of a Guam court of record. Two judges must agree to decide the merits of a case. The presiding judge alone can handle pre-hearing orders and can dismiss appeals for lack of jurisdiction or failure to pursue them. Final panel decisions can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which may make rules for these appeals. When Guam’s Supreme Court is set up, new appeals go there, but appeals already pending in the district court stay there and can still be reviewed by the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.