On July 11, 2006 the Judicial Efficiency Act became law through Public Law 28-137:1. Subsequently, on September 15, 2006, our Supreme Court adopted its Administrative Rule 06-001 regarding Case Management & Disposition establishing time standards for the the disposition of cases and matters pending before the Superior Court of Guam. Through these two mechanisms, additional vital components of the Unified Judiciary’s commitment to transparency, accountability and efficiency were put in place. Consistent with the Act and Rule, the information provided here continues our commitment to provide timely and meaningful information to the public regarding the functioning of the Judiciary.

The information provided is of two different types. First, data is reported regarding how long cases have been in existence – how long it has been since certain types of cases that are still open and active were originally filed. Through Rule 06-001, the Judiciary has adopted time standards regarding the efficient and prompt disposition of cases which all judges on the bench have committed to meeting. The time standards can be reviewed by clicking through the following link:  [Administrative Rule 06-001] 

It is important to note that there any many different avenues cases might take as they work their way through the justice system.  Thus, cases that technically remain “open” are often in a “holding pattern” of sorts regarding their activity before the trial court. Although such cases technically remain open, they are considered inactive and therefore are not included in our analysis since including them would give an inaccurate impression of the system’s efficiency. Examples of this include cases in which criminal defendants have plead guilty and are currently subject to a period of probation, cases in which alleged family violence criminal defendants are enrolled in the diversion program, cases in which criminal defendants have entered into deferred plea agreements with the Office of the Attorney General for a specific period of time, criminal defendants that have entered drug court programs or civil cases that have been referred to an alternative dispute resolution model in efforts to facilitate settlement. Additionally, many open criminal cases involve outstanding bench warrants and are similarly inactive. We have made efforts to exclude the inactive cases from the data provided so as to provide as accurate a picture as possible regarding cases that remain open and active.

To view data regarding how long cases have been in existence, please click through the following link: Judicial Efficiency Data.

Following the information regarding how long cases have been in the system, specific information about motions and other matters pending before each individual judge is also provided. The time standards require that all motions taken under advisement be decided within 90 days and that any other matter taken under advisement be decided within 120 days. These deadlines are consistent with our commitment to meeting the time standards discussed above regarding the prompt and efficient disposition of the cases themselves.

To view data regarding motions and other matters pending before each specific judge, please click through any of the following links below: