Federal Public Defender John Gorman joins Adelup in the request to ban the U.S. Attorney for Guam Shawn Anderson and his staff from the Guam District Courthouse indefinitely.

In a letter addressed to Chief Judge Frances Tydingco, attorney Gorman states, “I realize this is a strong measure but unfortunately it is warranted.”

Just yesterday, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero sent a letter to United States attorney general William Barr asking for a replacement after Andersen allegedly attempted to use his high ranking and refused lawful self-quarantine orders upon arriving back on island.

And today Gorman tells the court for the past two weeks there have been issues with the U.S. Attorney office’s “cavalier attitude” toward our current coronavirus pandemic and national public emergency. Gorman previously wrote on March 12 urging the court to take action against the coronavirus crisis and said he was shocked that the U.S. Attorneys Office’s response was, “it’s business as usual… and no protective measures were needed.”

Gorman further informs the court that Anderson has since gone in the U.S. Attorney’s office and has met with various U.S. Attorneys staff.

“The US Attorney foolishly believes that reasonable and responsible public safety laws and regulations do not apply to him or his staff," Gorman said. "He is wrong. If anything as the highest-ranking federal law enforcement official on Guam, he should know that he is not above the law.”

Until Anderson and his staff undergo a quarantine period, the office of the federal public defender will not appear in the same courtroom as the U.S. Attorney or their staff.

KUAM reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for an interview but received this comment from spokeswomen Carmela Ropadas on behalf of Anderson: “I have not had personal contact with our staff. I am also now set-up to telework, which I will do for the next two weeks. I will go into the office if necessary. Again I did not travel to a CDC high-risk country and do not have symptoms of COVID-19.”