Superior Court

Presiding Judge Robert Camacho Naraja, born on Saipan on July 17, 1955, graduated from George Washington Senior High School in Guam in 1975 and received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks, California, in 1979. He graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Gonzaga School of Law in Spokane, Washington, in 1982. Presiding Judge Naraja is married to Carmen Francesca V. Deleon Guerrero Naraja, and they have five children (Nikita, Matilde, Robert Jr., Thomasa and Leopoldo).

The Honorable Judge David A. Wiseman ascended to the bench in March of 2001 and is the fifteenth Judge confirmed to sit on the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands since the inception of the Commonwealth in 1978. Judge Wiseman also served the Commonwealth Judiciary as a Special Judge from 1995-2001. Both positions required nominations of the Governor subject to the advice and consent of Senate. Judge Wiseman came to the CNMI in 1977, arriving on July 7, 1977 or 7-7-77, which was the transition period of the former Trust Territory District of the Northern Mariana Islands into the Commonwealth government. He and his wife Faythe were field enrolled as Peace Corps Volunteers and he served as a U.S. Peace Corps Attorney first assigned to the Pre-Commonwealth, Fifth Marianas District Legislature and then to the Pre-Commonwealth Mayor and Municipality of Rota. This was an unique and challenging time and opportunity to be directly involved in the incipient stages of a new government and provided invaluable experience and knowledge for him to serve the several CNMI clients he had. Upon leaving the Peace Corps he became an Assistant Legislative Counsel in 1979 for the First Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature and then held the following Legislative positions: House Minority Counsel for the Second Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature Senate Committee Legal Counsel for the Second and Third Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature Legal Counsel for the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations for the Fifth NMI Legislature Legal Counsel for the House Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations for the Eleventh NMI Legislature Judge Wiseman was engaged in the private practice of law in the CNMI from 1984 through 2001. During that time he represented the following Government agencies: Northern Marianas Housing Corporation NMI Retirement Fund Civil Service Commission Marianas Visitors Bureau CNMI Board of Parole Mayor of Saipan Office of the Mayor - Tinian and Aguiguan Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council Judge Wiseman has been designated by the Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to sit as a designated Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, on an annual basis presently serving his 6th annual appointment under such designation. Judge Wiseman received an United States Appointment as a Member of the United States Chapter 7 Panel of Bankruptcy Trustees for the CNMI. Judge Wiseman received his Juris Doctorate from Suffolk Law School in Boston, Massachusetts in 1968, A Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration received in 1965 from Suffolk University, an Associate of Science in Business Administration received in 1963 from Newton Junior College, and was admitted to the following bar memberships: Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 1989. Superior Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 1979. Supreme Court of the United States of America, 1994 US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1987 United States District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands, 1979 Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau, 1986 High Court of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, 1979 Judge Wiseman served on the following Governmental Boards & Commissions: CNMI Tax Task Force, Former Member CNMI Wage & Salary Review Board, Former Commissioner Judge Wiseman was active in the following Professional & Community Affiliations. Saipan Chamber of Commerce, Member of Board of Directors and Chairman of Government Relations Committee Former Governor Guerrero's Council of Economic Advisors, Past Member representing Hotel Association. American Bar Association, Member American Trial Lawyers Association, former Member National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, Member International Association of Gaming Attorneys, Former Member World Jurist Association, Member Saipan Rotary Club, Past Member Board of Directors of YMCA of Northern Mariana Islands, Past Member Gaming Law Review, Editorial Board Member Judge Wiseman was Published with the following article: Gaming Law in America's Newest Commonwealth -Gaming Law Review, Volume 1, No. 1, 1997 Judge Wiseman received Official Recognition from the First CNMI Legislature, as follows: House Resolution No. 1-56, 1979 in the First Northern Mariana Commonwealth Legislature. In recognition and appreciation for services provided to the community of Rota as a Peace Corps volunteer

Judge Kenneth L. Govendo, born in Syracuse New York on January 28, 1945, has been a resident of the Northern Marianas for over 26 years. In 1966, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Alfred University in Alfred, New York. In 1969, he obtained his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Toledo College of Law, in Toledo, Ohio. After law school, Judge Govendo became a general practitioner in Redondo Beach, California and worked part-time as a senior staff attorney for the Legal Aid Foundation of the South Bar Association. Upon moving to the Western Pacific, he served as District Attorney in Palau and as Assistant Attorney General on Saipan during the Trust Territory period. He also served as Assistant Legislative Counsel for the Fifth Northern Marianas District Legislature and was legal counsel for the Department of Natural Resources, Board of Elections and Civil Service Commission. Throughout most of his career on Saipan, Judge Govendo has been a private practice lawyer handling a wide variety of cases. He served as legal counsel for Northern Marianas College for over a decade. In 1985, Judge Govendo helped organize the Citizens Committee Against Nuclear Waste Dumping in the ocean and participated as an adviser to the Greenpeace delegation at the London Dumping Convention in a successful effort to thwart the Japanese government's plan to dump low level nuclear waste in the ocean 600 miles north of Saipan. He has been active in public land, economic development and environmental matters, both as an attorney and as a commentator. He was also Saipan's first television show host on Cable Forum. Judge Govendo is married to Domitilia Camacho. He has two children, Benjamin Brice and Roger Syd. He is the son of Sydney and Beatrice Govendo and the son-in-law of Tan Monica Camacho Duenas.

Judge Joseph James Norita Camacho, born on Saipan on April 27, 1969, ascended to the bench on November 10, 2011. Judge Camacho was admitted to practice law in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Commonwealth courts. Judge Camacho graduated from Marianas High School in 1987 and received his Associate of Arts degree from Northern Marianas College in 1992. He continued his studies to obtain both a Bachelor of Arts in History from San Jose State University in 1994, and a Masters of Public Administration from Seattle University in 1998. He subsequently attended Gonzaga University School of Law and received his Juris Doctor in 2001. After law school, Judge Camacho served as a prosecutor for the CNMI Office of the Attorney General. In 2007, he was elected to the 17th CNMI House of Representatives and served as House Floor Leader. Judge Camacho has a long-standing commitment to public education and public service in the Commonwealth. He first entered into public service as a police officer with the CNMI Department of Public Safety. He has since served as an adjunct instructor at Northern Marianas College, and he continues to support programs that educate youth and the community about the law, including mock trial programs and the Summer Pre-Law Program. He is also an avid reader and collector of books about the Marianas and Micronesia. Judge Camacho is the son of Vicente (Ben Dinga’) Tudela Camacho and Marcella Lieto Norita Camacho. He is married to Attorney Viola Alepuyo, and they have one son, Ulen Joseph.