People v. Pangelinan

Opinion

F£LED 1 ssp§,m0R CCURT GF GL}Al-'E 2 2018 JUN -6 AH B: 12 3 CLERK mffqoua? 4 B : 5 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GUYAM 6

7 THE PEOPLE OF GUAM, CRIMINAL CASE no. CF0600-17 8 Plaintiff, 9 vs. DECISION AND ORDER 10 FRANK EDWARD PANGELH\IAN, 11

Defendant. 12

13 INTRODUCTION 14 This matter came before the Honorable Vernon P. Perez on March 13, 2018, for hearing 15 on the People of Guam's ("the Government") Motion for Reconsideration. Defendant Frank 16 Edward Pangelinan was present pro Se, along with Attorney William B. Pole, who was present 17 on behalf of Defendant as second chair. Assistant Attorney General Thomas R. Neumann was 18 present on behalf of the Government. Having reviewed the pleadings, the arguments presented, 19 and the record, the Court now issues the following Decision and Order. 20 BACKGROUND 21 On October 30, 2017, Defendant was indicted with the charge of Promotion of Major 22 Prison Contraband (Communication Device) (As a Second Degree Felony). (Indictment, Oct. 23 30, 2017).1 On January 31, 2018, the Court granted Defendant's Motion to Dismiss pursuant to 24 9 G.C.A. § 7.67. See Dec. & Order, Feb. 12, 2018. 25

l The Indictment also charges Corina Lynn Blas Tedtaotao with (1) Conspiracy to Promote Major Prison 26 Contraband (As a Second Degree Felony) and (2) Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (As a Third 27 Degree Felony), Quiana Liberty Iglesias Manibusan with Conspiracy to Promote Major Prison Contraband (As a Second Degree Felony), Raymond Torres Tedtaotao with (1) Promotion of Major Prison Contraband (Controlled 28 Substance) (As a Second Degree Felony) and (2) Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (As a Third

People v. Pangelinan Case No. CF0600-17 Decision and Order ORIGINAL Page 1 of 3 1 On February 19, 2018, the Government filed a Motion for Reconsideration, and on

2 March 2, 2018, Defendant filed his Opposition. No Reply was filed.

3 On March 13, 2018, the Court heard brief oral arguments on the matter and subsequently

4 placed it under advisement.

5 DISCUSSION

6 Pursuant to the Criminal Rule l.l(d) of the Local Rules of the Superior Court of Guam,

7 a party may tile a motion for reconsideration of a decision if:

8 (1) a material difference in fact or law from that presented to the court before such decision that in the exercise of reasonable diligence could not have been 9 known to the party moving for reconsideration at the time of such decision, 10 or,

(2) the emergence of new material facts or a change of law occurring after the time of such decision, or, 12

(3) a manifest showing of a failure to consider material facts presented to the 13 Court before such decision. 14 No motion for reconsideration shall in any manner repeat any oral or written 15 argument made in support of or in opposition to the original motion.

16 Super. Ct. Guam CR l.1(d). 17 The Government does not specifically indicate which subsection of CR1.1 it is moving 18 the Court for reconsideration, but gives additional facts to the Court and argues that the 19 legislative history of the prison contraband statute presents different policy considerations in 20 support of its motion. See generally, Mot., Feb. 19, 2018. Defendant opposes, arguing that the 21 Government has not presented any arguments in its Motion for Reconsideration that could not 22 have been brought in the initial opposition to his Motion to Dismiss, and that the Court does not 23 have jurisdiction to entertain a motion for reconsideration after a case has been dismissed. See 24 generally, Opp'n, Mar. 2, 2018. 25

26 Degree Felony), and Paul Lynnwood Johnson with (1) Conspiracy to Promote Major Prison Contraband (As a Second Degree Felony) with an attached Special Allegation: Felony Committed While on Pre-Trial Felony 27 Release. (Indictment, Oct. 30, 2017). Co-defendant Manibusan entered into a Plea Agreement with the Government on January 10, 2018. Co-defendant Corina Tedtaotao entered into a Plea Agreement with the 28 Government on May 29, 2018.

People v. Pangelinan Case No. CF0600- 17 Decision and Order

Page 2 of 3 1 The Government first presents facts for the Court's consideration based on its concerns

2 in the initial Decision and Order. According to the Government, while the

3 origin of the phone found in Pangelinan's possession in September is unclear, the statements made by others after the discovery of the package at GMH suggested 4 that Pangelinan was among the intended recipients of the phones contained 5 therein, although that package never actually made it into the Department of Corrections. This further suggests the logical inference that the found which was 6 found in Pangelinan's possession less than a month previous was the fruit of a 7 continuous, on-going conspiracy to smuggle all kinds of contraband into DOC. 8 (Mot. at 3). The Government acknowledges that "these facts were not presented in connection 9 with the original litigation of the motion." Id. at 4. The Government also argues that the 10 legislative history indicates that the administrative process at the Department of Corrections is 11 inadequate to sufficiently deter possession of contraband cell phone activity. Id. The 12 opposition to the original motion did not discuss the statute's legislative history. See generally, 13 Opp'n, Dec. 22, 2017. 14 Here, while the Government does not repeat any arguments made in opposition to the 15 original motion to dismiss, it presents facts or law that could have been presented during the 16 litigation of the original motion, and not an emergence of new material facts or a change of law 17 occurring after the decision on the motion. Motions for reconsideration serve a limited function 18 pursuant to Criminal Rule 1.l(d), and are not meant to give a party a second opportunity at a 19 motion. 20 CONCLUSION

21 For the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby DENIES the Government's Motion for

22 Reconsideration. 23

24 IT IS so ORDERED this 5 / of June, 2018 SERVICE VIA COURT BOX 25 I ackn0wlede that a copy of the original here o was placed in the 26 court box of: | 961la/ w . Pa a 27 HONORABLE VERNON p. PEREZ Dater' /bile % '-90m* . Judge, Superior Court of Guam 28 Cru -p Denulv clerk Court of Guam

People v. Pangelinan Case No. CF0600-17 Decision and Order

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