John Sablan Unpingco

How Judge Unpingco rules, drawn from 4 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Unpingco no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
District Court of Guam
Position
district
Status
Deceased
Served
1992–2004
Appointed by
George H. W. Bush (Republican)
Commissioned
1992-10-09
Education
St. Louis University, B.A., magna cum laude; New York University, M.B.A.; New York University School of Law, J.D.; Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. in International Law
Signed orders read
4

How Judge Unpingco decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

Unpingco denied extradition where the requesting government failed to supply evidence sufficient to satisfy the probable-cause threshold.

“the Philippine government failed to provide the United States and the Court with sufficient evidence which would establish probable cause”

In the federal land-title dispute, Unpingco granted relief after the occupant repeatedly failed to produce even minimal evidence supporting his position.

“defendant has failed (despite repeated opportunities being given by this Court to do so) to show even a. mere scintilla of evidence”

Procedural preferences

Unpingco treated the judicial certification and executive surrender stages of extradition as a workable constitutional allocation of institutional roles.

“the extradition statute is a constitutional blending of the powers of the Judiciary and Executive and not a violation of separation of powers.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

United States v. Linson
· 2000-03-15
Extradition request (Republic of the Philippines, through the United States) Denied

“After careful review of the evidence, the Court DENIES the Philippine Government’s request.”

People v. Garrido
· 1995-02-16
Appeal (criminal appellant) Denied

“For the reasons which follow, we AFFIRM.”

United States v. Santos
1:92-cv-00063 · 1993-07-01
Summary judgment (United States) Granted

“For the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby GRANTS the United States’ motions for partial summary judgment and for injunctive relief.”

Motion for injunctive relief (United States) Granted
Motions to dismiss (United States, joined by defendant) Granted

“Counts II through V of the complaint are HEREBY DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Matter of Extradition of Lin
· 1995-11-14
Extradition request (Republic of Palau, through the United States) Granted

“Mr. Lin’s extradition is warranted under the applicable law.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

The sampled case-level records included statutory, contract, property, insurance, criminal, and miscellaneous matters, but no motion timeline was available.

A historical record

Judge Unpingco no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.