Wednesday, March 30, 2016

WHAT WILL ELIZABETH BARRETT-ANDERSON DO?

So with his March 28 letter, Director of Land Management, Michael Borja, has thrown his much too-hot potato into the lap of Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson, the Chief Legal Officer of the Government of Guam, aka the Attorney General.

Okay, we'll bite. Let's go there. 

Barrett-Anderson has stated publicly that she was going to "follow up" on the "administrative correction," aka the back room deal worked out between the trained lawyer, Jacqueline T. Terlaje and Kristan Finney, Barrett-Anderson's employee. 

So we await Barrett-Anderson's verdict and hope that it's an educated one - befitting her office and her (so far) illustrious career as a lawyer, judge, and senator. 

The choice before Barrett-Anderson is this: 
"I am the chief legal officer of the Government of Guam and as such I stand by my original counsel to Michael Borja which is rooted in Title 21 Guam Code Annotated §29195 and wherein I stated that 'a person of interest or the registrar is required to petition the court to correct a certificate of title.'" 
OR: 
"I am the chief legal officer of the Government of Guam, but so what, I will stand by my employee who worked something out behind the scenes with someone who calls herself a "trained lawyer," and is sometimes the legal counsel for the Archbishop of Agana and sometimes not." 

If Barrett-Anderson takes the first option then we can have confidence that there is at least one person in this sad drama who is not infected with Pius Puss and that we have a chief legal officer who actually does what we elected her to do: enforce the laws of Guam.

If Barrett-Anderson takes the second option, then we will know that we have a chief legal officer who does not care to do what we elected her to do. In fact, why would we need an AG at all, if an employee in her shop can ignore her (Barrett-Anderson's) counsel and do whatever the hell she (Kristan Finney) wants?? 

Might as well save some money, get rid of the whole office, and just pay someone to flip coins. 

On a more technical note, if Barrett-Anderson goes with what Kristan and Jackie "worked out" instead of her own counsel to petition the court, then we will have to seriously question Barrett-Anderson's competence to remain the chief legal officer of the Government of Guam.  

Kristan and Jackie resorted to 21 GCA §29160 which kept them out of court but does NOT address the correction of a memorial entered in error. Instead, it addresses how a memorial gets on a certificate of title in the first place. This is why this section is titled: § 29160. Instruments Intended to Create Charges Upon Land: New Certificates.

What Kristan and Jackie did was REMOVE the errant memorial which showed the Archbishop of Agana as the beneficiary of the Declaration of Deed Restriction and REPLACE it with the correct memorial which showed RMS, Inc. as the beneficiary of the Declaration. 

Read the section and see for yourself that there is NO provision to REMOVE,  REPLACE, or CORRECT errant memorials, YET, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT JACKIE AND KRISTAN DID.

Rather, corrections are detailed later in this chapter of the code beginning with: 
§ 29194. Corrections, Alterations, or Erasures: How Only Made.After a title has been registered and a certificate issued therefor, or after a memorandum, notation, or memorial has been made on the Register of Titles and has been attested, no correction, alteration, or erasure shall be made therein or thereof, except in the manner herein provided.
http://www.guamcourts.org/CompilerofLaws/GCA/21gca/21gc029.PDF 
This is then followed by § 29195 which is the section Barrett-Anderson originally advised Michael Borja to follow, and which details how the Registrar (Borja) is to petition the court to make the correction. 

So, if Barrett-Anderson opines AGAINST her own counsel and supports the decision that Jackie and Kristan "worked out," Barrett-Anderson is not only wrong, she will be making her own position as Guam's chief legal officer, irrelevant, and we might as well hire a coin-flipper. 

Let's hope she doesn't do that. 

16 comments:

  1. Our Attorney General should at all times base her decisions on Guam's laws and never ever let news organizations, bloggers, other entities with in the Government, etc. influence her. If she does then she should be disqualified from her position.

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  2. does liz need to be reminded that she's not a judge anymore?

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  3. Atty General Barrett-Anderson, the ball is clearly in your court. What your employee Asst AG Finney did in this matter can only be interpreted as "the ends justifies the means". As we are a society built on the rule of law and the careful application of them to govern our lives, we look to you to safeguard our rights and enforce the laws equally and without exception. I'm reminded that Lady Liberty is blind-folded to symbolize the equal application of the law, however she also carries a sword. The ends justifies the means is one step away from "might makes right" an the utter chaos that can ensue.

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  4. A few weeks back, I opined that this case was much bigger than our little tit for tat, inside our Church.

    I also stated that this had now taken a life of its own, in highlighting the potential conflicts of interest within the Government of Guam and its administration. While I was right on the principle, little did I know how deep the issue runs.

    It appears that "the come to Jesus" meeting between the Gov and his Department of Land Management happened, and that instructions were given to clear up this mess ASAP.
    Unfortunately the message got lost in the process, because Mr Borja, elected to go back to the old, true and tested, Chamorro version of the infamous Potomac two steps, and chose the easy way out: the deal behind close doors, rather than the above board way.

    It shows that old habits die hard, and that Mr Borja, and perhaps in this case Mr Calvo himself totally misjudged their political acumen.

    This case, from the start should have been dealt with the out most care and clarity, rather that the inept attempts we have witnessed.
    Our politicians, totally misjudged this, and demonstrated the dancing talents of an Elephant in a China store. (while some might think, it could be appropriate for Republicans, it is not)

    We should be able to expect that our politicians, while not the brightest lights on the tree, have at least discernment and intuitiveness. Apparently it is not so.

    Now we have to see what kind of discernment, intuitiveness, and moral fortitude the AG is going to demonstrate. Lets hope and pray, that it will be a welcome and refreshing departure from the Potomac two steps.

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  5. the can-of-worms scenario is when the ag decides to petition the court, and then it's discovered that many other titles have been "corrected" similarly through the years, without petitioning the court. the govt better be prepared for that.

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  6. Yes, just how many other certificates of title have been "corrected" this way? The fact that Mike Borja readily accepted the back room deal worked out between Kristan Finney and Jackie Terlaje gives me the impression this type of deals have been done before.

    Kudos to Mr. Klitzkie for his efforts in bringing one of these anomalies (the Yona property) to light.

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  7. Mike Borja. Kristan Finney. Jackie T. Terlaje. Apuron. Andy Santos.
    Liz Barrett-Anderson. Senator Tom Ada. Mr. Bob Klitzkie. Who else will be added to this "Angels & Demons" story, Guam version?

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  8. Janet B - MangilaoMarch 31, 2016 at 8:14 AM

    It may look like a real can of worms to the government officials caught up in this mess. But what everyone needs to remember that the root cause is not worms but snakes. Not tree snakes but kiko snakes.

    Yes there are many varieties of snakes that beleaguer our systems. But this particular brand of snake, the kiko snake is particularly vicious because it is well camouflaged as the well loved Church.

    This snake must be good because it has the appearance of the bishop as the head. But make no mistake. This snake is not the church but only poses as the church so people let down their guard against the danger this snake presents.

    It is sad that so many people have been victims of this snake but thanks to mr Rohr this snake has been exposed as one of the most venomous of all. The world watches in horror at the prospect that this invasive non-indigenous creature could infest their shores and wreak havoc upon unsuspecting victims.

    The saddest part is that our beloved church in Rome stands by silently watching this unfold. The church was created to protect Gods sheep. But this chameleon like snake has entranced so many in the highest levels of the church. Our tony was bit 20 years ago and was doomed at that point. Have many other bishops and cardinals have been bit and have the Kiko venom running through them?

    The only solution is a strong anti-venom. And that anti-venom is "the TRUTH". It is truth that will eventually destroy the powers of the snake.

    And it is truth that jungle watch brings to the people, victims and potential victims. The potential have been made safe by already getting an ample serving of truth which has scared us but made us aware of the dangers of the kiko snake.

    Now the Church must work with the jungle to insure the truth is dispensed to those already bitten. The first step is to sever the head of the snake so it will stop dispensing venom to its members/victims.

    The next step is a well organized program to dispense the TRUTH. Let us pray that Rome is up to this task. Guam will do its part to continue to dispense truth at every opportunity.

    Thank you Tim for your generous doses of anti-venom!

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    Replies
    1. Right, Janet. High ranking churchmen poisoned. So many new NCW priests now becoming bishops. This could take a long, long, time.

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  9. AG's office has been filled with elected low energy ineffective leaders since Doug Moylan left. Time for a change and bring back justice! Moylan, Klitzkie, any other possible future candidates for AG?

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  10. Mike Borja was given 4 days to comply with the FOIA, which ends April 01st.

    How much time do we give the highly-respected Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson, the Attorney General of Guam, to comment on the letter (now very public) from Mike Borja?

    Also, does Mike Borja's letter absolve him from complying, or give him more time to comply, with Mr. Klitzkie's FOIA request? If not, what happens next?

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  11. So the AG answers. What now?

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    Replies
    1. The weekend! That's what happens next!

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  12. She just lost my vote for sure.

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  13. Replies
    1. LOL. Rude-ee. You and your phallic fixation. Too funny.

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