The Marianas Office is once again gearing up for its BACK TO SCHOOL PROJECT. Every year we distribute free book bags containing school supplies to needy kids in grades 1 through 12.
We need donations!!!
If you want to help, we accept in-kind or in-cash donations. Typically, we give a back-pack with a binder, filler paper, folder, notebook composition book, pens, pencils and erasers. Extras may include a pencil bag, crayons-glue-scissors-ruler for grade school kids, protractor-compass-graph paper for middle school kids, and typing paper-correction tape-art eraser for high school kids. We will also distribute all school supplies donated, so feel free to choose what you would like to see in the hands of kids--like dictionaries or other books, calculators, colored pencils, etc.
Call or e-mail anyone here and we'll arrange pick-up of your donation.
About recipients:
If you know someone you think especially needy, let us know. We are compiling our list now.
We try to reach out to kids in Saipan, Tinian and Rota. If we gave back-packs last year, we are not likely to give another one this year. We target the neediest and so we will want/need information about the family's financial situation. (We already have this information about our clients.)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Open for Domestic Intake/Comment Moderation
The Marianas Office will be open for domestic intake (divorce, paternity & child support, adoptions, guardianships, etc.) from August 9 through August 12, 2010. Intake hours are 8 AM to 12 Noon; 1 to 4 PM.
People interested in applying for MLSC help on a domestic matter should bring
Applicants should also be prepared to answer questions from our intake workers.
You can set an appointment for intake by calling ahead--234-6243 or 234-7729--or just come in and wait your turn.
P.S. I have turned on comment moderation because of the amount of spam we've been receiving on this blog.
People interested in applying for MLSC help on a domestic matter should bring
1) proof of their household's financial eligibility (tax returns or pay stubs or benefit notices for all household members; resources/land ownership info);
2) a copy of all relevant documents (marriage certificate, birth certificates, land and marital assets info/titles, etc., )
3) a brief statement of what the problem is and what you want MLSC to do to help you. (e.g. I am separated from my husband because he was violent towards me; and I want MLSC to help me get a divorce. I want custody of our children and the family home.)
Applicants should also be prepared to answer questions from our intake workers.
You can set an appointment for intake by calling ahead--234-6243 or 234-7729--or just come in and wait your turn.
P.S. I have turned on comment moderation because of the amount of spam we've been receiving on this blog.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Immigration Forum Links
I have updated the table of articles by Maya Kara and Bruce Mailman on immigration matters. Their first articles were published in the Marianas Variety and those links no longer work. I've left them on the list, though, in case you want to track down the articles in hard copy.
The later articles are in the Saipan Tribune and those links are now up-to-date.
There is a lot of good information here and I encourage readers interested in the immigration topic in the CNMI to read these articles. I don't always agree with the opinions of Maya and Bruce, but their information on the law is reliable.
The later articles are in the Saipan Tribune and those links are now up-to-date.
There is a lot of good information here and I encourage readers interested in the immigration topic in the CNMI to read these articles. I don't always agree with the opinions of Maya and Bruce, but their information on the law is reliable.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Managaha
We had our Marianas Office "Burnout" retreat on April 30, 2010 at Managaha.
This is a day we take to talk with each other in a formal way, but in a relaxed and beautiful setting away from the office, to discuss what we do as an office, our successes, what we could do better, our failures, and anything that touches on life at MLSC. We are so busy in our daily work that we seldom have time to take for this kind of reflection. The hope is that by doing this, we'll spot trends and find ways to do what we might not otherwise get around to. At the very least, we have a nice day where we get to know each other better and stave off burn-out by taking time to appreciate the beautiful place where we live.
Marianas staff on the day-long retreat included Maria P. Muna (who has been with MLSC since we opened in 1971), Polly Anne Sablan, Lolita Nazaire, Juanette Sablan, Dimitri Varmazis and Linda Wingenbach. And me (Jane Mack). This year Frank Rogopes from the Marianas Office didn't come, but Ben Tured and Ben Weber from Central Office did.
This was the view from our "front lawn." We opted for the northern shore of Managaha.
Lolita cracked firewood.
Linda made her cooking preferences known.
Maria, Lolita, and Dimitri stopped for a moment for the camera.
This is what our pala-pala (i.e. shelter) looked like from one side.
Here's another view of our pala-pala.
Another view from "our" beach.
The distance from the beach to our pala-pala.
Certain areas around our campsite were marked off to protect bird habitat.
Ben Tured (Polly Anne and Juanette in the background).
Maria and Lolita exploring a bit. (Or did they go to the concession stand for coffee?)
Another protected zone.
Dimitri in deep thought (or just sleepy).
Ben Weber, relaxing, and modeling his ocean-rescue-ready shorts.
Linda on the move.
Ben Tured with his betel nut.
Polly Anne and Juanette tending the barbecue. (Food was delicious!)
This is a day we take to talk with each other in a formal way, but in a relaxed and beautiful setting away from the office, to discuss what we do as an office, our successes, what we could do better, our failures, and anything that touches on life at MLSC. We are so busy in our daily work that we seldom have time to take for this kind of reflection. The hope is that by doing this, we'll spot trends and find ways to do what we might not otherwise get around to. At the very least, we have a nice day where we get to know each other better and stave off burn-out by taking time to appreciate the beautiful place where we live.
Marianas staff on the day-long retreat included Maria P. Muna (who has been with MLSC since we opened in 1971), Polly Anne Sablan, Lolita Nazaire, Juanette Sablan, Dimitri Varmazis and Linda Wingenbach. And me (Jane Mack). This year Frank Rogopes from the Marianas Office didn't come, but Ben Tured and Ben Weber from Central Office did.
This was the view from our "front lawn." We opted for the northern shore of Managaha.
Lolita cracked firewood.
Linda made her cooking preferences known.
Maria, Lolita, and Dimitri stopped for a moment for the camera.
This is what our pala-pala (i.e. shelter) looked like from one side.
Here's another view of our pala-pala.
Another view from "our" beach.
The distance from the beach to our pala-pala.
Certain areas around our campsite were marked off to protect bird habitat.
Ben Tured (Polly Anne and Juanette in the background).
Maria and Lolita exploring a bit. (Or did they go to the concession stand for coffee?)
Another protected zone.
Dimitri in deep thought (or just sleepy).
Ben Weber, relaxing, and modeling his ocean-rescue-ready shorts.
Linda on the move.
Ben Tured with his betel nut.
Polly Anne and Juanette tending the barbecue. (Food was delicious!)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Implicit Bias
The CNMI Bar Association has announced that Judge Mark W. Bennett will present a CLE presentation on implicit bias in jury selection at our Thursday bar meeting. The Bar Association also circulated his article, Unraveling the Gordian Knot of Implicit Bias in Jury Selection: the Problems of Judge-Dominated Voir Dire, the Failed Promise of Batson, and Proposed Solutions, published in Harvard Law and Policy Review in February 2010.
I think most lawyers are aware of implicit bias--by themselves and their colleagues, from judges, clients, witnesses, and jurors. It's somewhat a human phenomenon to engage in racial, gender, language, and other stereotyping, even when we fight against it.
The article mentions the IAT, an online "test" to help measure your hidden tendencies. The Implicit Association Test may hold surprises for you, if you dare take it. It seems very simplistic in its premises, but I think it can be used as a personal tool for exploring one's own potential for implicit biases.
The most positive note in the article by Judge Bennett is the power of professionalism and training to reduce and eliminate the implicit-preference tendencies. This effect was seen in both emergency room professionals and police. As Judge Bennett mentions, it is imperative that we achieve similar results in the justice system/judiciary.
I think most lawyers are aware of implicit bias--by themselves and their colleagues, from judges, clients, witnesses, and jurors. It's somewhat a human phenomenon to engage in racial, gender, language, and other stereotyping, even when we fight against it.
The article mentions the IAT, an online "test" to help measure your hidden tendencies. The Implicit Association Test may hold surprises for you, if you dare take it. It seems very simplistic in its premises, but I think it can be used as a personal tool for exploring one's own potential for implicit biases.
The most positive note in the article by Judge Bennett is the power of professionalism and training to reduce and eliminate the implicit-preference tendencies. This effect was seen in both emergency room professionals and police. As Judge Bennett mentions, it is imperative that we achieve similar results in the justice system/judiciary.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Open for Domestic Intake
The Marianas Office is open this week (April 5-9, 2010) for intake of domestic cases. These typically include divorce, paternity and child support, adoption, and guardianship.
Intake hours are from 8 AM to noon and 1 PM to 4 PM Monday through Thursday; and 8 AM to 9 AM Friday.
Intake hours are from 8 AM to noon and 1 PM to 4 PM Monday through Thursday; and 8 AM to 9 AM Friday.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
New Case, New Duty
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision dated March 31, 2010 that recognizes for the first time a constitutional duty of criminal defense counsel to advise their clients of possible immigration consequences of plea agreements. Padilla v. Kentucky involved a situation where the attorney misinformed the criminal defendant, advising him not to worry about immigration consequences of a plea agreement because he had been in the US for a long time (40 years).
The majority opinion (Justices Stevens, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor) places on criminal defense counsel a duty to not only refrain from giving misinformation, but to actively provide a warning that is accurate about the possible immigration consequences of a guilty plea (or conviction). The majority held that
In reaching the decision, the majority found that informed consideration of possible deportation can be helpful to both prosecution and defense, as it will give leverage to the prosecution to convince a defendant to avoid the risk of deportation by pleading guilty to non-deportable crimes, and aid the defense counsel by giving them the opportunity to provide a real benefit to their clients if they can come up with a deal that avoids deportation.
The concurring opinion (Justices Alito and Roberts) enumerates some of the very real difficulties counsel will have in living up to such obligation. It also notes how this is a "dramatic departure from precedent" and cites a Cornell Law Review article by Chin and Holmes that found that "virtually all jurisdictions--including eleven federal circuits, more than thirty states, and the District of Columbia--hold that defense counsel need not discuss with their clients the collateral consequences of a conviction, including deportation."
The CNMI Supreme Court was one such court that had considered the issue in the case CNMI v. Shaunglan Chen and ruled against the alien defendant who sought to withdraw her guilty plea for ineffective assistance of counsel when counsel had not provided information about the deportation consequences of her plea agreement.
Obviously, this case will mean some changes by criminal defense counsel are necessary when representing alien defendants. Because the CNMI is under US immigration now, (although in the transition stage), the consequences for aliens pleading guilty or being found guilty of crimes here will be the same as for aliens in the rest of the US. No doubt there will be useful resources (like books, magazine articles, and online articles) to aid criminal lawyers with their duty.
Keeping up-to-date will be the real challenge.
And just to be complete, there was a dissent (Justices Scalia and Thomas).
The majority opinion (Justices Stevens, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor) places on criminal defense counsel a duty to not only refrain from giving misinformation, but to actively provide a warning that is accurate about the possible immigration consequences of a guilty plea (or conviction). The majority held that
"counsel must advise her client regarding the risk of deportation...
We too have previously recognized that "preserving the client's right to remain in the United States may be more important to the client than any potential jail sentence."
In reaching the decision, the majority found that informed consideration of possible deportation can be helpful to both prosecution and defense, as it will give leverage to the prosecution to convince a defendant to avoid the risk of deportation by pleading guilty to non-deportable crimes, and aid the defense counsel by giving them the opportunity to provide a real benefit to their clients if they can come up with a deal that avoids deportation.
The concurring opinion (Justices Alito and Roberts) enumerates some of the very real difficulties counsel will have in living up to such obligation. It also notes how this is a "dramatic departure from precedent" and cites a Cornell Law Review article by Chin and Holmes that found that "virtually all jurisdictions--including eleven federal circuits, more than thirty states, and the District of Columbia--hold that defense counsel need not discuss with their clients the collateral consequences of a conviction, including deportation."
The CNMI Supreme Court was one such court that had considered the issue in the case CNMI v. Shaunglan Chen and ruled against the alien defendant who sought to withdraw her guilty plea for ineffective assistance of counsel when counsel had not provided information about the deportation consequences of her plea agreement.
Obviously, this case will mean some changes by criminal defense counsel are necessary when representing alien defendants. Because the CNMI is under US immigration now, (although in the transition stage), the consequences for aliens pleading guilty or being found guilty of crimes here will be the same as for aliens in the rest of the US. No doubt there will be useful resources (like books, magazine articles, and online articles) to aid criminal lawyers with their duty.
Keeping up-to-date will be the real challenge.
And just to be complete, there was a dissent (Justices Scalia and Thomas).
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