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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2400 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.2400

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four

                                 An Act

 
  To amend the Organic Act of Guam for the purposes of clarifying the 
                    local judicial structure of Guam.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. JUDICIAL STRUCTURE OF GUAM.

    (a) Judicial Authority; Courts.--Section 22(a) of the Organic Act 
of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a)(1) The judicial authority of Guam shall be vested in a court 
established by Congress designated as the `District Court of Guam', and 
a judicial branch of Guam which branch shall constitute a unified 
judicial system and include an appellate court designated as the 
`Supreme Court of Guam', a trial court designated as the `Superior 
Court of Guam', and such other lower local courts as may have been or 
shall hereafter be established by the laws of Guam.
    ``(2) The Supreme Court of Guam may, by rules of such court, create 
divisions of the Superior Court of Guam and other local courts of Guam.
    ``(3) The courts of record for Guam shall be the District Court of 
Guam, the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court of Guam (except the 
Traffic and Small Claims divisions of the Superior Court of Guam) and 
any other local courts or divisions of local courts that the Supreme 
Court of Guam shall designate.''.
    (b) Jurisdiction and Powers of Local Courts.--Section 22A of the 
Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-1) is amended to read as follows:
    ``Sec. 22A. (a) The Supreme Court of Guam shall be the highest 
court of the judicial branch of Guam (excluding the District Court of 
Guam) and shall--
        ``(1) have original jurisdiction over proceedings necessary to 
    protect its appellate jurisdiction and supervisory authority and 
    such other original jurisdiction as the laws of Guam may provide;
        ``(2) have jurisdiction to hear appeals over any cause in Guam 
    decided by the Superior Court of Guam or other courts established 
    under the laws of Guam;
        ``(3) have jurisdiction to issue all orders and writs in aid of 
    its appellate, supervisory, and original jurisdiction, including 
    those orders necessary for the supervision of the judicial branch 
    of Guam;
        ``(4) have supervisory jurisdiction over the Superior Court of 
    Guam and all other courts of the judicial branch of Guam;
        ``(5) hear and determine appeals by a panel of three of the 
    justices of the Supreme Court of Guam and a concurrence of two such 
    justices shall be necessary to a decision of the Supreme Court of 
    Guam on the merits of an appeal;
        ``(6) make and promulgate rules governing the administration of 
    the judiciary and the practice and procedure in the courts of the 
    judicial branch of Guam, including procedures for the determination 
    of an appeal en banc; and
        ``(7) govern attorney and judicial ethics and the practice of 
    law in Guam, including admission to practice law and the conduct 
    and discipline of persons admitted to practice law.
    ``(b) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam--
        ``(1) shall preside over the Supreme Court unless disqualified 
    or unable to act;
        ``(2) shall be the administrative head of, and have general 
    supervisory power over, all departments, divisions, and other 
    instrumentalities of the judicial branch of Guam; and
        ``(3) may issue such administrative orders on behalf of the 
    Supreme Court of Guam as necessary for the efficient administration 
    of the judicial branch of Guam.
    ``(c) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam, or a justice 
sitting in place of such Chief Justice, may make any appropriate order 
with respect to--
        ``(1) an appeal prior to the hearing and determination of that 
    appeal on the merits; or
        ``(2) dismissal of an appeal for lack of jurisdiction or 
    failure to take or prosecute the appeal in accordance with 
    applicable laws or rules of procedure.
    ``(d) Except as granted to the Supreme Court of Guam or otherwise 
provided by this Act or any other Act of Congress, the Superior Court 
of Guam and all other local courts established by the laws of Guam 
shall have such original and appellate jurisdiction over all causes in 
Guam as the laws of Guam provide, except that such jurisdiction shall 
be subject to the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction conferred on the 
District Court of Guam under section 22 of this Act.
    ``(e) The qualifications and duties of the justices and judges of 
the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court of Guam, and all other 
local courts established by the laws of Guam shall be governed by the 
laws of Guam and the rules of such courts.''.
    (c) Technical Amendments.--(1) Section 22C(a) of the Organic Act of 
Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-3(a)) is amended by inserting ``which is known as 
the Supreme Court of Guam,'' after ``appellate court authorized by 
section 22A(a) of this Act,''.
    (2) Section 22C(d) of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-3(d)) 
is amended--
        (A) by inserting ``, which is known as the Supreme Court of 
    Guam,'' after ``appellate court provided for in section 22A(a) of 
    this Act''; and
        (B) by striking ``taken to the appellate court'' and inserting 
    ``taken to such appellate court''.

SEC. 2. APPEALS TO UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

    Section 22B of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424-2) is 
amended by striking ``: Provided, That'' and all that follows through 
the end and inserting a period.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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