Opinion ID: 766198
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Finality Required to Exercise Jurisdiction over the Petition.

Text: 7 Section 1424-2 grants to the Ninth Circuit jurisdiction to review by writ of certiorari all final decisions of the highest court of Guam from which a decision could be had  for the first fifteen years following the establishment of the Supreme Court of Guam. 48 U.S.C. S 1424-2 (emphasis added). In a threshold challenge to this court's jurisdiction, LTCB argues that reversal of a grant of summary judgment is not a final decision. 8 In 1981, we adopted the United States Supreme Court's analysis in Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469 (1975), to govern our determination of when a decision of the highest appellate court of Guam 5 is final, although further proceedings on the merits may remain. See Guam v. Kingsbury, 649 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1981) (adopting Cox Broadcasting and finding practical finality when an issue could not be raised in a later appeal). Cox Broadcasting elucidated four exceptions to strict finality in the similar circumstance of Supreme Court consideration of decisions by state courts in determining whether to exercise jurisdiction to review federal issues under 28 U.S.C. S 1257, although further proceedings in state court remain. 9 Unlike the Supreme Court in its review of state court decisions, however, this circuit has authority to review not only federal issues, but also all issues of local law. See 48 U.S.C. S 1424-2. Because of this broad authority -which we held equally over the old Appellate Division system, as we do over the Guam Supreme Court -the Cox Broadcasting framework has not been a perfect fit. In tailoring Cox Broadcasting's categories to fit our review, we have held that we will consider all issues -both federal and territorial -to be federal for Cox Broadcasting purposes. See Kiaaina v. Jackson, 851 F.2d 287, 289 (9th Cir. 1988). 10 The fourth Cox Broadcasting exception -which allows for jurisdiction in circumstances in which a federal issue has been decided, proceedings may lead to a decision on non-federal grounds, but determination of the federal issue would immediately resolve the case and delay would erode a federal policy, see Cox Broadcasting, 420 U.S. at 483 -is the only exception on which EIE Guam relies that we believe could establish finality in the circumstances of this case. We agree with EIE Guam that three of this exception's prongs have been met: the Supreme Court of Guam has decided the issue; proceedings on remand could lead to a decision on other grounds; and a reversal on the issue would immediately resolve the counterclaim, as LTCB would no longer be able to maintain suit. 6 11 We are uncertain, however, whether the final prong, the potential for delayed review of the issue to seriously erode federal policy, id., has been satisfied here. In evaluating this prong, we do consider the federal interest in final resolution of important issues of Guam law, see Kiaaina, 851 F.2d at 290. The proper focus of our inquiry, however, is on the significance of the issue of Guam or federal law, not on judicial economy and the advantages of a prompt resolution. See id.; Guam v. Manibusan, 729 F.2d 1236, 1238 (9th Cir. 1984). 12 Here, the Guam Supreme Court held that the health, safety, and morals concerns that motivate the business licensing rules of Guam are not implicated by lending of a foreign bank which is secured by in state property. EIE Guam argues that nonetheless this case presents an issue of statutory interpretation that is fundamentally important to Guam and to the national and international banking community that Guam relies on to build its future. 13 We have determined, in other contexts, that challenges to insurance policy exclusions, reversals of suppression orders in criminal cases, and denials of motions to dismiss indictments are all matters that  `can await final judgment without any adverse effect' upon important federal or Guam interests and that do not warrant the use of exception four for immediate resolution. Kiaaina, 851 F.2d at 291 (quoting Flynt v. Ohio, 451 U.S. 619, 622 (1981)); see also Guam v. Mafnas, 721 F.2d 683, 684-85 (9th Cir. 1983); Manibusan, 729 F.2d at 1238. In those cases, we found either that the issue presented was itself not so significant as to warrant excusing finality, or that the countervailing policy concern against piecemeal determinations -especially in criminal cases -was stronger. 14 This is not to say that the requirements of Cox Broadcasting's exception four cannot be met. We have held previously, for example, that determining the boundaries of jurisdiction of the juvenile courts of Guam is an important enough policy interest to excuse finality. See Guam v. Quinata, 704 F.2d 1085, 1087 (9th Cir. 1983). In Wabol, which involved the Northern Mariana Islands, we also excused complete finality, finding that determining the validity of restrictions on land purchases to those of Northern Mariana descent, in the face of an equal protection challenge, was a significant policy concern for the territory. See Wabol v. Villacrusis, 958 F.2d 1450, 1455 (9th Cir. 1990). Although EIE Guam argues the Supreme Court of Guam's interpretation of the statute in this case raises the equal protection concerns present in Wabol, we cannot find that there is an issue of federal constitutional concern at stake here. 7 15 Nonetheless, the question of statutory interpretation raised here seems to our eyes to be an issue of real importance to the economic future of Guam and its people. The arguments for and against jurisdictionare in equipoise. In this unusual circumstance, we will assume that we have jurisdiction without deciding that difficult issue, because our disposition of the petition for certiorari will be the same as it would if we were to hold that we lack jurisdiction. 16