Retirement case resumes with jury selection

by Michele Catahay

Guam - Jury selection is scheduled to resume on Monday in the case against former governor Carl Gutierrez and former Government of Guam Retirement Fund Director John Rios. Friday Superior Court Pro-Tem Judge Richard Benson issued an order denying a motion to dismiss filed by Gutierrez's attorney, David Lujan.

The defense argued that the indictment should be dismissed since the court already threw out 11 of the 22 charges.  Judge Benson noted that Gutierrez's motion was untimely and no cause was presented for its lateness. The court also vacated its stay of the proceedings and ordered that jury selection resume tomorrow.

Rios' attorney, Mike Phillips meanwhile, will ask the court to delay the proceedings once again until he acts on his client's motion to dismiss.