Guam Bar Association president frowns on Moylan's 'tasteless' lawyer joke
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
"What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the sea? A good start," reads the subhead of Attorney General Douglas Moylan's Sept. 14 press release, in which he slammed the Guam Bar Association for its alleged "bias" against him.
Jacqueline Taitano Terlaje, GBA president, didn't find it funny. Rather, it sounded like a threat, she said.
"I condemn, without reservation, the 'joke' that opens that release. That is not humor," Terlaje said, smarting from Moylan's statement accusing her and "at least one other GBA leader" of bias and conflicts of interest.
Terlaje said Moylan was "unmistakenly" referring to Joaquin C. Arriola Jr. as the other target of his accusations.
"It reads as a line wishing harm on the two of us, dressed up so its author can claim deniability," Terlaje said.
In his press release, Moylan explained his decision to decline GBA's invitation to a Sept. 16 debate for candidates running for attorney general. He claimed he didn't stand to get fair treatment at the forum organized by an organization led by its leader who had "an axe to grind" against him."
"Rather than utilize direct communication to express any grievance with me or with Attorney Arriola, Douglas Moylan takes to tactless jokes and disrespects, not only the Bar Association, but our profession. Innuendo aimed at
named colleagues in the form of a joke is tasteless and beneath the office he holds," Terlaje said. "I condemn his decision to refuse the Guam Bar Association's invitation."
In a separate statement, the GBA said the debate was "developed with fairness, balance and neutrality as its primary considerations" and will be facilitated by a moderator unaffiliated with the group.
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"The GBA respects every candidate's right to participate in, or to decline to participate in, political debates," the GBA said. "We believe, however, that it is important to correct any public characterization that does not accurately reflect the format and rules communicated to the candidates."
"The GBA therefore rejects any suggestion that the debate was designed to
'ambush' a candidate, to favor one candidate over another, or to compromise the integrity of the electoral process," GBA said.
Terlaje said convening a nonpartisan debate is a public service the Guam Bar Association has done for years. She recalled that Moylan participated in the GBA-hosted debate when he was running for office four years ago.
"Thus, Attorney General Moylan’s claim of ambush, bias and the allegation that the GBA 'seeks the elimination' of the elected position is simply a fabricated effort to avoid responding to fair questions about the position of attorney general," Terlaje said.
"If the attorney general genuinely believes any individual GBA leader has a conflict of interest, the channels for that are disqualification motions and bar complaints, not a press release boycotting a public debate," she added.
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Terlaje condemned Moylan's "refusal to answer for his administration before the voters of Guam."
"Manufacturing a conspiracy out of a bar association's civic debate is not a reason to avoid that accountability; it is an admission of the wish to avoid it," she added.
Skipping a debate, Terlaje said, denies voters a chance to hear the sitting attorney general's answers to the same questions his opponents will be asked.
"I will not be intimidated out of doing my job by a campaign release that leans on innuendo instead of naming names," Terlaje said. "I remain willing to ensure that any debate the Guam Bar Association hosts is conducted fairly and welcome scrutiny of that process."
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