Case Name: Emerenciana PETER-PALICAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS; Timothy Villagomez, Defendants-Appellants
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2009-05-26
Citations: 332 F. App'x 377
Docket Number: No. 08-15704
Parties: Emerenciana PETER-PALICAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS; Timothy Villagomez, Defendants-Appellants.
Judges: Before KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, BYBEE and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 332
Pages: 377–379

Head Matter:
Emerenciana PETER-PALICAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS; Timothy Villagomez, Defendants-Appellants.
No. 08-15704.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted May 12, 2009.
Filed May 26, 2009.
Douglas F. Cushnie, Law Offices Of Douglas F. Cushnie, Saipan, MP, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Dave Lochabay, Esquire, Assistant Attorney General, AGMP — Office of the Attorney General, Saipan, MP, for Defendants-Appellants.
Before KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, BYBEE and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
There is no case law interpreting the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' constitutional provision creating the Special Assistant for Women's Affairs, and no special assistant before Emereneia-na Peter-Palican asserted that the position's tenure extended past the term of the appointing governor. Any right Peter-Palican had to continued employment as special assistant past that term was therefore not clearly established. Even assuming that Acting Governor Timothy Villago-mez took affirmative steps to terminate Peter-Palican's employment, which is not clear from the record, he is entitled to qualified immunity in the absence of controlling authority interpreting the provision. See Bingham v. City of Manhattan Beach, 341 F.3d 939, 946 (9th Cir.2003).
REVERSED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.