Bad choice of words

Villagomez says media 'corrupted' community blares the Saipan Tribune headline.

That's a bit sensational. Maybe 'tainted' or 'influenced' would have been better.

It's not Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez actually, apparently the 'quote' was lifted from a motion filed by attorney David Lujan. The 'air of prejudice' against public officials? Well, yeah. Go figure.

It would be hard to argue otherwise. If you're looking for a juror who hasn't heard of charges against the CNMI's Lieutenant Governor, start looking now. Ask around, and you'll have a hard time finding anyone who hasn't already decided on his guilt or been influenced by the media.

Bombast aside, Lujan wants to use a questionnaire to check for biased jurors instead of oral questioning. That's perfectly reasonable; in fact all jurors would be asked the same questions the same way without lawyers popping up with objections.

I just wouldn't want to be one of those jurors. Villagomez has a large family and has gathered friends and enemies throughout his political career. You'd be accused of bias whatever the verdict.

Also, I haven't felt the urge to run away and join the circus for years.