Koror, Palau – On Tuesday, September 10, 2019, Mr. Donald Rengos Immanuel was found guilty of Criminal Contempt of Court. The Office of the Special Prosecutor filed the charge against the Defendant on June 24, 2019. The charge stemmed from an incident on June 11, 2019 when Mr. Immanuel refused to be served a Subpoena Duces Tecum issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
Palau Supreme Court Justice Lourdes Materne found the Defendant guilty of a Misdemeanor level Contempt charge, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Noting the seriousness of ignoring a court-authorized subpoena and balancing it against the Defendant’s lack of a prior criminal record, Justice Materne sentenced the Defendant to six months probation and a fine of $250.
Jacob Gordin, Assistant Special Prosecutor for the Republic of Palau, prosecuted the case with support from Special Prosecutor April Dawn Cripps.