8 results for 'judge:"Maraman"'.
J. Maraman finds the trial court properly granted defendant’s motion to suppress evidence in a traffic stop that resulted in his arrest for possession. The officers did not present consistent testimony about the traffic stop and search of defendant’s vehicle, and the court could not find that the officer’s obtained defendant’s consent at any point. The search was therefore unwarranted and unreasonable and subject to dismissal. Affirmed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: CRA22-13, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Search
J. Maraman finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of the sexual abuse of his partner’s preteen daughter. The victim testified that she was “raped,” which suffices to implicate intercourse rather than other sex acts. Determining the paternity of the victim’s child is therefore irrelevant even though the victim testified that she had also been assaulted by defendant’s brother, as she had also already testified to defendant’s assaults. Enhanced punishment for assaults that occurred at different times does not constitute double jeopardy, as “the Legislature intended for the special allegation to apply, even where the underlying felony included the victim’s age as an element.” Affirmed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: CRA22-9, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Maraman partially finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of the sexual assault of a 16-year-old. The prosecution did not vouch for the victim in a statement about her memory of the incident, as he was referencing evidence and there is sufficient evidence that the victim was physically helpless and unable to communicate properly due to severe intoxication. The jury’s consent instruction was also therefore proper, though the instruction regarding aiding and abetting was not. The instruction did not include that aiding abetting includes demonstrating specific intent of defendant and the two friends he committed the assault with, and the omission may have caused the jury to convict defendant of a separate assault charge. Affirmed in part.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: CRA21-14, Categories: Sex Offender, Assault, Jury Instructions
J. Maraman finds the lower court properly enhanced defendant’s sentence after he breached his plea agreement by committing new criminal offenses before the sentencing. The plea agreement included a provision that requires increasing defendant’s sentence if new offenses were committed, even if he complied with all other aspects of the agreement. Affirmed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: December 26, 2023, Case #: CRA22-11, Categories: Robbery, Sentencing
J. Maraman finds the lower court properly resentenced defendant to 12 years of imprisonment following a successful appeal of his original convictions on two robbery charges. Defendant was properly sentenced as ordered for each charge at for each of the locations he robbed. Affirmed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: December 18, 2023, Case #: CRA23-1, Categories: Robbery, Sentencing
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J. Maraman finds the lower court improperly ordered a father to retroactively pay child support from the time of the child’s birth and while he was deployed in the military, finding that he is responsible for only the original amount agreed on. Reversed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: CVA19-10, Categories: Family Law
J. Maraman finds the lower court properly granted summary judgment in the case of an employee’s death at work to a plumbing company. Though the employee’s family argued that there was ambiguity on whether the deceased was actually considered an employee or not, it was proper to consider summary judgment before conducting discovery. The family did not present any evidence of genuine issue of material fact, even in the many months between the filing and the hearing and only presented an opposition that wrongly placed the burden of proof on the plumbing company. Affirmed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: CVA22-11, Categories: Employment, Wrongful Death, Workers' Compensation
J. Maraman finds the probate court improperly decided that a woman was not the legal spouse of the deceased, and therefore did not have authority to appoint a administrator for his estate. The marriage between the deceased and his wife in the Philippines was valid as he had been granted a interlocutory divorce to his previous wife in Guam. Guam statutes on divorce and remarriage apply here rather than those of the Philippines, as “the Supreme Court of the Philippines has held that where a party presents a foreign interlocutory divorce decree as evidence that the capacity to remarry has been restored, the legal effects of the interlocutory decree under the foreign law must be shown.” Reversed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Maraman, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: CVA22-12, Categories: Family Law, International Law, Wills / Probate