Views from MLSC islands

Japan has suffered a terrible earthquake and tsunami. Our sincere condolences to those who are trying to recover and restore a semblance of peace.
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I recently traveled to MLSC offices in Majuro and Ebeye (in the Republic of the Marshall Islands) and Pohnpei (in the Federated States of Micronesia). The purpose of my trip was to conduct a follow-up training on using Prime (the Kemp's case management system). Our MLSC tech, Ekeziel (Bong) Robles, handled the heavy work, addressing both hardware and software issues and working late into the night on all islands. My job was to give some simple demonstrations of using the system and then be available to answer questions during a hands-on practicum.

There are no daily flights into and out of the islands, so our time at each place was dictated in large part by the flight schedules. This meant a bit of time in Majuro, very little time in Ebeye, and mostly the weekend and Monday in Pohnpei. The Majuro staff gave up a state holiday in remembrance of nuclear testing victims to attend the training session. The Ebeye staff had the two days of training crammed into a day-and-a-half. The Pohnpei staff came in on Sunday for the bulk of their training.

I had a little time in both Majuro and Pohnpei to take some photos, and got just a tiny glimpse of Ebeye through the lens.

These are not in any particular order...

on the way home--from the Chuuk airport

this plane was grounded and we had a 6 hour "wait"




Ebeye

on the ferry from Kwajalein to Ebeye



views from the ferry arriving at Ebeye


Room at An Roshi hotel


view from the hotel balcony


Majuro



views from Rita (the northern end of Majuro)


baseball in Laura (the southern end of Majuro)


Bong at Laura park



gate keeper to the end of Laura





Manase and Bong at Laura



Japanese Peace Park







roadside vendor selling kelaguen-style tiny sand-crab meat


an example of the ever-present mural work in Majuro



view from the hotel shore


seating at hotel waterfront



the hotel


the hotel's extension where we stayed





Majuro office staff with Bong


Majuro Office Staff: Bob Katz, Talofou Manase, Roseann, Sunny Beero, Melanie, Wagner Joash, Ben Kilawe



Pohnpei

MLSC office in Pohnpei



Another Ben


Danally




Edwina and Sal


Susin



Ben, Erwine and Bong setting up for training


Bong during the training, dealing with tech issues


Edwina and Susin during training



Pohnpei scenic









at The Village (for lunch)



The Village


Tino, Ben and Bong











view from the airport "departure lounge"

Orders to Seek Work in Debt Cases--NOT!

The CNMI Supreme Court ruled today that the CNMI laws do not permit the Superior Court to order unemployed judgment debtors to seek work.

The case, Marianas Eye Institute v. Pitness Moses, 2011 MP 1, involved a Chuukese man who worked for six years in the garment industry and then lost his job when the industry left the islands. He has been unemployed ever since. While unemployed, he was bushcutting and something flew into his eye, so he sought help at the Commonwealth Health Center. The CHC referred him to Dr. Khorram's clinic, the Marianas Eye Institute. Neither Moses nor the clinic inquired about how Moses would pay--he assumed that the same assistance program offered by the hospital to FSM citizens (the MIAP program) would cover him at the private clinic. It didn't. He ended up with a $300+ debt that he couldn't afford.

Attorney Mike White represented MEI in a collection case and Moses stipulated to a judgment. In post-judgment proceedings, MEI agreed with Moses that he had no income or assets from which he could pay. MEI asked the court to order Moses to get a job. Failure to comply with such a court order could result in civil contempt and jail.

Moses had been looking for work already for years, without success. The work situation in the CNMI is difficult, with few jobs and a near-death economy. Despite his efforts, he had not found work.

Moses objected to the order because it was futile, and he would face jail time if he didn't comply exactly with the court's demands. In other cases, we have seen the court continue to increase its demands so that unemployed debtors are required to submit more and more applications every week; and in order to avoid the potential for jail the debtors resort to submitting useless paperwork to businesses who are not even looking for employees. The court also typically requires the debtors to report back in frequent periodic hearings, which clog the docket and often lead judges into the temptation to give tongue-lashings and verbal reprimands simply because of the debtor's continued poverty and unemployment.

The CNMI Supreme Court examined all prior appellate cases in the CNMI and looked at cases from Guam, Illinois, and other jurisdictions. In the end, the court was convinced that the CNMI statute, which allows the court to order "payments," did not expressly authorize the court to order job searches as a means of enforcing ordinary judgment debts.

The CNMI Supreme Court also said that, once the Superior Court found that there were no income or assets from which payment could be made, it could not make any order in aid of judgment.

This small victory will provide enormous relief to many people who are currently in dire economic conditions, without work but owing debt.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration

The CNMI commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday, January 16, 2011. I had the honor of participating as an invited speaker at the formal events at the American Memorial Park auditorium. It was a "day on, not a day off."

The event started with the color guard from Kagman High School presenting the flags and Ambrose Bennett and Leo Goode leading the singing of the US national anthem, the CNMI national anthem, and the Negro national anthem, followed by a short benediction.

Attorney Joe Hill was a key organizer, and he gave some remarks at the commemoration. Assistant Attorney General Shelli Neal and Ms. Delos Santos were emcees. We also watched a short address from Congressman Gregorio (Kilili) Sablan, presented via video.


Steve Woodruff, Ms. Delos Santos, Shelli Neal, ?, Brad Pennington, Jesse Pennington, Judge Ken Govendo, Rabbi Sayed, Jane Mack; photo by Anna Rose DLG

I had been asked to speak on a very broad subject--the challenge of justice in the CNMI--and was especially asked to give a little bit of historical context from MLSC's time in Micronesia.

I identified various kinds of justice--social, economic, legal--and pared the subject down to the narrowest bit of what I know: legal justice in the context of MLSC's mission.


clipped from Saipan Tribune 1/18/2011

MLSC has been in operation since 1971, and I have been here since 1984, so I spoke about the changes I've seen and some of the challenges. I talked about technology changes, but also noted that the challenges from adapting to new technology (and the frustration with technology in Micronesia) are small compared to challenges of attitudes and entrenched thinking. I talked about the radical concept of equal access to justice and the ambivalence even found in LSC, which is dedicated to providing free lawyers to poor people, but then ties our hands with restrictions like no class actions and no challenges to welfare legislation, etc. I closed with recognizing the challenge of staying committed when the going gets tough, and how very difficult it is right now in the CNMI with the economy barely functioning and crime paying better profits than work. And of course, the very end was a call to continue seeking justice.

My speech was an introductory sort of speech, just to warm up the audience for the keynote address by Jesse Pennington. He is an attorney who worked for MLSC in the 1970's (about 1974), but also has had a long connection to the civil rights movement in the US. He had met Dr. King and had his own escape from violence in Mississippi, events and encounters he related as he built his theme about the importance of being a witness and continuing the message in today's world.


clipped from Saipan Tribune, 1/18/2011

His inspirational presentation moved back and forth from remembrance to insight to reflection.


Brad and Jesse Pennington (son and father); photo by Jane Mack

When we were finished, there was a question and answer session that also added depth to the analysis and thinking that was going on. There were some awards and thank yous, and a closing benediction.


Brad and Jesse Pennington, Willie Bundridge (one of the event organizers and who commented that this year's commemoration was better than last year's!); photo by Jane Mack

All in all, it was a very worthwhile commemoration and day.

You can see more photos by Saipan Tribune photographer Haidee v. Eugenio here.


Anna Rose Deleon Guerrero with Brad and Jesse Pennington; photo by Jane Mack

New Schedules-ROTA and TINIAN

ROTA
Micronesian Legal Services Corporation (MLSC) has opened a new office in Rota, located at Room #D-107 of the Hotel Valentino, Songsong Village. A representative from MLSC will be available to meet clients and take applicant intake from 11am to 4pm on the upcoming dates:

Thursday, January 6
Thursday, January 13
Thursday, January 20

Anyone wishing to schedule an appointment can call MLSC’s main number at 234-6243/7729 or, on the dates when an MLSC representative is on Rota, please call 285-6102.

TINIAN
Visits at the MLSC office in the PM Buildling are scheduled for the following dates:

Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011