Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands v. Daniel Atalig

This case raises issues concerning the appellate jurisdiction of this court and the application of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to a trust territory.

A commonwealth trial court of the Northern Mariana Islands convicted Daniel Atalig of possession of marijuana in violation of local law. The Appellate Division of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands reversed the conviction on the grounds that Atalig was denied the right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. We reverse the judgment of the district court.

I.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

Appellee Daniel Atalig is a citizen of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands who resides on the island of Rota, one of the Northern Mariana Islands. Atalig rode as a passenger and shipped two boxes as cargo on a commercial airline flight from Rota to Saipan. When he arrived in Saipan, Atalig recovered the boxes from the cargo claim area and presented them to an agricultural quarantine inspector. Atalig opened the boxes and the inspector discovered plastic bags filled with approximately five pounds of marijuana.

Appellant Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands…