Associate Justice F. Philip Carbullido will take over as chief justice of the Guam Supreme Court on Jan. 21.
Carbullido was elected to the top judicial post-- for the fourth time -- following the end of the three-year term of Katherine A. Maraman as head of the Judicial Branch of the government of Guam. “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve as chief justice over the past three years,” said Maraman, who will continue to serve as an associate justice.“Our branch has many dedicated and resourceful judicial officers, managers, and staff who have worked diligently to administer justice in Guam -- serving alongside them in my role has certainly been one of the great privileges of my judicial career.”
As a result of the election, Carbullido becomes the first Justice to serve a fourth term as chief justice. The Ordot-Chalan Pago native served as chief justice of Guam from 2003 to 2008 and from 2011 to 2014.
“Our courts have reached a pivotal moment in our Branch’s history,” said Carbullido. “In this new decade, there will many changes to the Guam Judicial Center and ambitious plans to support the growing justice needs of our community.”
Carbullido completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon in 1975 and earned his Juris Doctorate in 1978 from the University of California, Davis. Before his appointment to the bench in 2002, Carbullido was an attorney in private practice. Carbullido is a member of the Pacific Judicial Council and serves as a Justice Pro Tempore of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
“I know that together we can continue to build a justice system that will not only dispense fair, sensible, and efficient justice, but will help address the formidable problems faced by so many of the people of our great island,” Carbullido said.
Carbullido was born on Feb. 5, 1953 in Tamuning. He is the third of nine children of the marriage of Francisco Chaco Carbullido and Maria Salas Castro Carbullido. Justice Carbullido is married to Fay Diana Garrido and they have four children: Brandon, Kristina Joy, Adam Philip and Steven.