New order issued in retirement case

by Mindy Aguon

Guam - Superior Court Pro Tem Judge Richard Benson has vacated his March 16 order in the case against former governor Carl Gutierrez and former Government of Guam Retirement Fund director John Rios. In that order, the judge asked the parties to submit memorandums on whether the dismissal of the criminal charges against the two former public officials should be with or without prejudice. 

If the case is dismissed with prejudice, it would mean the prosecution could never bring the charges against the defendants again. Judge Benson found that at the time he issued the order, the matter was still with the Supreme Court.  To fix the error, the court Thursday issued an order giving the parties until June 28 to submit memorandums on the issue.