Katherine Maraman | |
---|---|
Chief Justice of the Guam Supreme Court | |
In office January 17, 2017 –January 21, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Robert Torres |
Succeeded by | Philip Carbullido |
Justice of the Guam Supreme Court | |
Assumed office February 21,2008 | |
Appointed by | Felix P. Camacho |
Preceded by | Frances Tydingco-Gatewood |
Personal details | |
Born | 1951 (age 73–74) Los Alamos,New Mexico,U.S. |
Education | Colorado College (BA) University of New Mexico (JD) |
Katherine Ann Maraman (born 1951) is an American judge who has been a member of the Supreme Court of Guam since 2008. From 2017 to 2020,she served as the court's chief justice,becoming the first female chief justice on the island and across Micronesia. [1]
Katherine Maraman was born in Los Alamos,New Mexico,in 1951. [1] [2] [3] Her mother had immigrated to the United States from Ireland,settling first in Chicago before moving to the southwest. [4] Maraman attended Los Alamos High School,then Colorado College,where she graduated in 1973 with a degree in economics. [3] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Having graduating from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1976,after working briefly at the New Mexico Legislative Council Service,she moved to Guam to work for a law firm there in 1977. [1] [2] [4] [8] She now describes the island as her adoptive home. [1]
She subsequently served as a legal advisor to the Legislature of Guam and to Governor Joseph Franklin Ada. [1] [9] Then,beginning in 1994,she was appointed to the Superior Court of Guam,where she served for 14 years. [6] [7] [10] During her time at the Superior Court,she primarily focused on family court cases. [3] [10]
Then,in 2008,she was appointed by Governor Felix Perez Camacho to serve on the Supreme Court of Guam. [6] [10] She is currently an associate justice,having served as chief justice from 2017 to 2020. [6] [10] [11] On her election in 2017,she became Guam's first female chief justice. [10] [12] As a justice,her work has included efforts to improve how the courts handle mental health. [10]
Maraman concurrently serves part-time as an associate judge on the Supreme Court of Palau. [6] She also teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Guam. [6]