Testimony favorable for Maraman

The Legislature's Public Hearing Room in Hagatna was filled with people waiting to testify on the confirmation hearing of Superior Court judge Katherine Maraman to sit as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of Guam. Maraman has sat on the trial court bench since 1994; prior to that she was the legal adviser to former governor Joseph Ada, a position she held for six years.

She additionally served as the minority counsel for the 17th, 18th and 19th Guam legislature's, respectively. Judge Maraman also served as assistant legal legislative legal counsel for the 14th, 15th, and 16th legislatures. Judge Maraman received her undergraduate degree in economics in 1973 at Colorado College and her law degree at the University of New Mexico in 1976.

First to appear before the Legislative Committee on Judiciary this morning was current chief justice of the Supreme Court, F. Philip Carbullido, who testified in favor of her confirmation and urged the committee to expeditiously move forward with her confirmation. Also testifying in support of her confirmation was Supreme Court associate justice Bob Torres, and former chief justice of the high court and former senator B.J. Cruz, who testified in support of her first confirmation hearing to sit on the Superior Court bench more than thirteen years ago.

He also spoke of several breakfast meetings he's had with her and other government officials, in which they discussed ways to improve the island's judiciary. Guam Bar Association president Attorney Roland Mantanona also testified in support of her confirmation and presented a survey his organization's members took that further supported her ascension to the high court bench.