Chief Justice Maraman asks Legislature for modest funding, highlights e‑court rollout and cybersecurity after intrusion

Chief Justice Katherine A. Maraman delivered the 2026 State of the Judiciary to a joint session of the Guam Legislature on May 1, urging modest budget support for technology, security and access initiatives while outlining reforms intended to speed case processing and expand services to underserved communities. "The state of the judiciary is resilient, accountable, and ready to face the challenges of our times," Maraman said.

Maraman said the judiciary launched integrated case management systems in March—described in the address as "eCourt" and "eSupervision"—to streamline tracking, supervision and financial processes and to provide public access portals for records. She said the systems were built with scalability and security in mind and that staff are working to expand functionality and public access. "Our new integrated system is a technological foundation for more timely, efficient, and accessible justice," Maraman said.

The chief justice framed technology and service changes as tools to improve access for people who arrive at court without counsel or with low procedural literacy. She highlighted redesigned court webpages unveiled "today on May 1st," new self‑represented litigant kiosks, enhanced e‑filing and a grant‑funded court navigator program that will guide non‑lawyers through forms and referrals. Maraman emphasized that navigators "are not an attorney" but are intended to reduce errors and shorten time to resolution.

Maraman described an expansion of the Northern Court satellite to provide hearings, probation services and group counseling closer to Guam's northern communities, saying logistics and distance have been a "silent form of exclusion." She also reported progress on treatment courts, including the mental health court and court rules promulgated to guide those proceedings, and on training partnerships. The judiciary has an agreement with CIT International and a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to train up to 20 crisis intervention coordinators who will then train others.

Security concerns were a central theme. Maraman said the judiciary was among entities whose financial systems were recently infiltrated by "nefarious cyber criminals using email spoofing," a matter she said remains under law‑enforcement investigation. In response, she said the judiciary's IT division is implementing stronger encryption, multi‑factor authentication, continuous monitoring, incident response protocols and staff training aligned with FBI standards to contain and limit future incidents.

On corrections, Maraman called overcrowding at the Department of Corrections a crisis that undermines rehabilitation, health and safety. She urged a more "aggressive and thoughtful use of electronic monitoring" for eligible low‑ and medium‑risk individuals, combined with reliable supervision and support services, and said she directed probation services to begin screening interviews earlier in case processing to streamline eligibility assessments.

Regarding the legal workforce, Maraman said Guam will be among jurisdictions adopting the NextGen UBE bar exam in July and has adopted rule changes to permit score portability and new pathways for foreign‑educated applicants; she also said the court is finalizing a reciprocity agreement with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to ease cross‑admission.

Maraman described the judiciary's budget request as modest and essentially status‑quo, seeking modest increases tied to organic growth, personnel step increases, recurring technology maintenance and inflationary adjustments. "We ask only modest increases tied to organic growth," she said, asking both the executive and legislative branches to support the request to sustain operations and security.

She closed by citing the Juvenile Justice Reform Collaborative's recent report and by thanking community partners including Harvest House, the Guam Chamber of Commerce and the Guam National Guard Counterdrug Program. The session concluded after a benediction and Majority Leader Senator Luhan moved to rise from the committee of the whole and adjourn; the motion carried with no objections.

The address outlined several next steps for the judiciary rather than new statutes: continued rollout of technology and public portals, implementation of navigator and Northern Court services, expanded crisis‑intervention training, ongoing cybersecurity hardening and administrative use of electronic monitoring to relieve correctional overcrowding. The Legislature will next consider the judiciary's modest budget request during its ordinary appropriations process.