Ramona V Manglona at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Current assignment
- District Court, Northern Mariana Islands
- Jurisdiction
- New Mexico · Territorial
- Judicial service
- Active
Ramona V Manglona
Judge · U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, District Court, Northern Mariana Islands, 2011-present
- In 2002, she became Deputy Attorney General and later the first female Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands (2002–2003)
- Attorney General, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; from 2002
- Prosecutor, CNMI Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Division; from 1998
- Law clerk, CNMI Superior Court
- Litigator, CNMI Office of the Attorney General, Civil Division
- Trailblazer for women in the law in the Northern Mariana Islands, breaking barriers as the first indigenous woman to pass the local bar and the first woman to serve as a federal district judge there
- Ramona V. Manglona is the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, the first woman and first indigenous person to hold that federal judicial role
Education
- She is the first in her family to earn a four‐year college degree, graduating BA in Economics and Japanese from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990, and later earning her JD from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1996.
Additional information
- She became Chief Judge in 2011 and has continued to serve, with her second 10‐year term confirmed by the Senate on April 16, 2024 under President Joe Biden’s renomination
- The Senate confirmed her on July 26, 2011, and she took office July 29, 2011.
- On January 26, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
- Joined the Superior Court in 2003 and served until 2011
- Moved to the Civil Division after three years.
- After three years in the Criminal Division.
- Before law school, Manglona worked in her family’s real estate business.
- After law school, she held the role of a law clerk for two Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court judges, then joined the Office of the Attorney General, first in the criminal division and later the civil division.
- Her career includes prosecuting notable cases such as the Commonwealth’s first “shaken baby syndrome” prosecution.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Media Electronic Device Coverage
Statewide
New Mexico Rule 23-107 authorizes broadcasting, televising, photographing, and recording in state court proceedings subject to the rule's guidelines and judicial control.
The broadcasting, televising, photographing, and recording of court proceedings in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district courts, magistrate courts, and metropolitan courts of the State of New Mexico are hereby authorized in accordance with the guidelines promulgated herewith.Rule 23-107. Broadcasting, televising, photographing and recording of court proceedings ↗
Remote appearances
Statewide
New Mexico Judiciary remote-proceedings standards treat virtual courtrooms as formal courtroom settings and impose conduct expectations for remote participants.
The courtroom, whether a physical in-person courtroom, or a virtual courtroom, remains a formal and serious setting where judges hear matters involving real people that affect real lives.New Mexico Judiciary Remote Proceedings and Meeting Standards ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked June 30, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 8, 2026.
U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands current judicial profile
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 2, 2026
View U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands current judicial profile ↗Rule 23-107. Broadcasting, televising, photographing and recording of court proceedings
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Rule 23-107. Broadcasting, televising, photographing and recording of court proceedings ↗New Mexico Judiciary Remote Proceedings and Meeting Standards
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View New Mexico Judiciary Remote Proceedings and Meeting Standards ↗