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Senate committee hears support and questions for Superior Court nominees Camacho and San Nicolas
Summary
The Senate Executive Appointments and Government Investigations Committee in Tinian heard statements and broad public support for Judge Joseph J. N. Camacho and Attorney Joey P. San Nicolas, and questioned nominees on recusals, cultural protections in the CNMI covenant, juvenile justice and case assignment. No confirmation vote was taken at the hearing.
The Senate Executive Appointments and Government Investigations Committee met March 26, 2026, in Tinian to consider Governor David M. Apatang’s nominations of Judge Joseph James N. Camacho as Presiding Judge and Attorney Joey Patrick San Nicolas as Associate Judge of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court.
Jean Paul B. Reyes, special assistant to the governor, introduced the nominees on the governor’s behalf and summarized their legal backgrounds. Reyes said Judge Camacho holds a Master of Public Administration from Seattle University and a J.D. from Gonzaga University and has more than 35 years of public service. He said Joey P. San Nicolas graduated from Mitchell Hamline College of Law, served as CNMI attorney general and mayor of Tinian, and would be the first associate judge nominated from Tinian if confirmed.
Both nominees delivered statements. Judge Joseph J. N. Camacho told the committee that "context matters" in judging and noted that, while Superior Court judges hear hundreds of matters a year, only about 20 are appealed to the Supreme Court. "Judges do their best to make good decisions as they understand the facts and the law at that time," he said.
Attorney Joey P. San Nicolas described his Tinian roots and long record of public service, saying he would "approach that responsibility with independence, impartiality, and integrity" if confirmed.
Local officials and residents offered extensive oral and written support. Edwin Pangelinan, mayor of the Municipality of Tinian and Aguiguan, urged the committee to give the nominees "full and strong support," citing Camacho’s judicial experience and San Nicolas’s service as attorney general and mayor. The clerk reported 14 written statements backing Judge Camacho and six in support of Attorney San Nicolas, including letters from current legislators, attorneys, agency officials and a retired judge; the committee highlighted a Bar Association submission as peer endorsement.
Committee members questioned nominees about several practical and ethical issues. Vice Chair Jude U. Hofschneider and others pressed nominees on recusal standards in a small community; Judge Camacho explained the CNMI code’s recusal rules by degrees of relationship and the practice of seeking outside judges (for example from Guam) when local judges are conflicted. He said judges disclose relationships and recuse when required by the code.
Members also asked how judges should balance respect for Chamorro and Refaluwasch cultural traditions with constitutional protections and federal covenant provisions such as Article 12 (land alienation) and related covenant clauses. The nominees replied that the covenant and the CNMI code and case law guide decisions; they emphasized that statutory and constitutional limits shape which customary practices the courts can recognize and that some policy changes would require legislative or ballot action.
Senators probed juvenile justice and substance-abuse policy. Both nominees said juvenile cases have rehabilitation as a primary goal and described differences between treating youth matters in a criminal docket versus a family/juvenile approach; Judge Camacho suggested some reforms would require legislation, while San Nicolas described the juvenile system as an opportunity to coordinate stakeholders toward rehabilitation.
On courtroom operations, nominees described case-assignment procedures (a lottery/Coram system for allocation and specialty docket assignments such as probate, juvenile and traffic), jury selection practices on outlying islands and potential administrative changes to streamline docketing, including regular virtual sessions for probate and traffic matters in Rota and Tinian.
The hearing concluded without a confirmation vote. Chair Senator Francisco Q. Cruz said all oral and written testimony would be included in the committee’s recommendation report to the full Senate. The committee adjourned following a voice vote to close the session.
What happens next: The committee will include testimonies and its record in a recommendation report for the full Senate to consider confirmation or rejection; no date for a final vote was announced at this hearing.
