Fiti A. Sunia | |
---|---|
Associate Justice of the High Court of American Samoa | |
Assumed office January 4, 2019 | |
Appointed by | David Bernhardt |
Preceded by | Lyle L. Richmond |
Judge of the District Court of American Samoa | |
In office January 15,2016 –January 4,2019 | |
Nominated by | Lolo Moliga |
Preceded by | John L. Ward II |
Succeeded by | Gwen F. Tauili'ili-Langkilde [1] |
Attorney General of American Samoa | |
In office January 1,2002 –December 31,2004 | |
Governor | Tauese Sunia Togiola Tulafono |
Preceded by | Toetagata Albert Mailo |
Succeeded by | Sialega Malaetasi Togafau |
Personal details | |
Born | Fiti Alesana Sunia August 29,1960 Honolulu,Hawaii,U.S. |
Relatives | FofōSunia (father) Tauese Sunia (uncle) Faoa Sunia (uncle) |
Education | Drake University (BA) American University (MA) Howard University (JD) |
Fiti Alesana Sunia (born August 29,1960) is an American lawyer who has served as the associate justice of the High Court of American Samoa since 2019.
Sunia was born on August 29,1960,in Honolulu,Hawaii. He attended Samoana High School in Utulei,American Samoa before finishing high school at Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu.
Sunia earned his bachelor's degree in public administration from Drake University and,in 1983,earned a master's degree in public administration from American University. [2] He earned his J.D. from Howard University in 1993.
After earning his master's degree,Sunia worked as a Congressional staffer to U.S. Representative Mervyn Dymally of California. [3]
Sunia began his legal career at Patton Boggs in Washington,D.C. from 1993 to 1997. [2] He returned to American Samoa in 1997,joining the territory's attorney general office. From 2002 to 2004,Sunia served as the Attorney General of American Samoa. [4] He then started his own private practice in American Samoa. [2] [5]
On January 15,2016,Sunia was confirmed by the American Samoa Senate as a judge of the District Court of American Samoa. [6]
On January 4,2019,United States Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt appointed Sunia as the associate justice of the High Court of American Samoa. [7] Chief Justice F. Michael Kruse serves alongside Sunia.
Sunia's father,FofōSunia, [8] served as the first non-voting Delegate from American Samoa to the United States House of Representatives. His uncle,Tauese Sunia,was the fifth elected Governor of American Samoa.
Sunia carries the matai title of Muagutitia in Pu'apu'a,Samoa. [6]
FofóIosefa Fiti Sunia was the first non-voting Delegate from American Samoa to the United States House of Representatives. He was born in Fagasā,Pago Pago,and attended the University of Hawaiʻi.
Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono is an American Samoan politician and lawyer who served as the sixth governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as the seventh lieutenant governor.
Tauese Tuailemafua Pita Fiti Sunia was an American Samoan politician who served as the fifth governor of American Samoa from 1997 until his death in 2003. He was the second governor of American Samoa to die in office;Warren Terhune was the first.
Peter Tali Coleman was an American Samoan politician and lawyer. Coleman was the first and only person of Samoan descent to be appointed governor of American Samoa between 1956 and 1961 and later became the territory's first and third popularly elected governor from 1978 to 1985 and 1989 to 1993,serving a total of three elected terms. In between,he had served in different administrative positions for Pacific islands.
Tofilau Eti Alesana was a Samoan politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Samoa from 1982 to 1985,and again from 1988 until his resignation in 1998.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a federal district court in Washington,D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the High Court of American Samoa,it also sometimes handles federal issues that arise in the territory of American Samoa,which has no local federal court or territorial court. Appeals from the District Court are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act,which are appealed to the Federal Circuit.
The United States District Court for the District of Hawaii is the principal trial court of the United States Federal Court System in the state of Hawaii. The court's territorial jurisdiction encompasses the state of Hawaii and the territories of Midway Atoll,Wake Island,Johnston Atoll,Kingman Reef,Palmyra Atoll,Baker Island,Howland Island,and Jarvis Island;it also occasionally handles federal issues that arise in the territory of American Samoa,which has no local federal court or territorial court. It is located at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building in downtown Honolulu,fronting the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor. The court hears both civil and criminal cases as a court of law and equity. A branch of the district court is the United States Bankruptcy Court which also has chambers in the federal building. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases coming out of the District of Hawaii. The United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii represents the United States in all civil and criminal cases within her district.
American Samoa Community College (ASCC) is a public land-grant community college in the village of Mapusaga,American Samoa. Only legal residents of American Samoa who have graduated from high school or obtained a General Equivalency Diploma are admitted to ASCC.
The American Samoa Fono is the territorial legislature of American Samoa. Like most states and territorial legislatures of the United States,it is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate. The legislature is located in Fagatogo along Pago Pago harbor.
Aūa is a village on Tutuila Island in American Samoa. It is located along American Samoa Highway 001,and is the southern terminus of American Samoa Highway 006. Aūa is located at the foothills of Mount Peiva on the eastern shore of Pago Pago Bay. The hamlet of Leloaloa is also a part of Aūa.
The American Samoa Department of Public Safety,formerly the American Samoa Territorial Police,is the police law enforcement agency for American Samoa,which has jurisdiction anywhere in the territory. It was created to protect the lives and property of American Samoans. The DPS has police,corrections and fire divisions.
Faoa Aitofele Toese Fiti Sunia,formerly known by the title of Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia,is an American Samoan lawyer and politician. Sunia has served as the eighth lieutenant governor of American Samoa from April 11,2003 to January 3,2013.
Same-sex marriage is not currently performed in American Samoa,though same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions are recognized. On June 26,2015,the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. The ruling legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the United States;however,it is uncertain how the ruling applies to American Samoa as the territory is unincorporated and unorganized. The Governor of American Samoa at the time,Lolo Matalasi Moliga,said he believed that the Supreme Court's ruling does not apply to American Samoa.
Fagaoalii Lefagaoali'i Satele Sunia was an American Samoan literacy advocate and educator. She served as the First Lady of American Samoa from January 1997 to March 2003 during the tenure of her husband,former Governor Tauese Sunia,who died in office in 2003. Sunia established and operated the Read to Me Samoa Program to promote reading in American Samoa. She also created the Tauese P. Sunia Memorial,a museum and visitor attraction dedicated to her late husband located at her home in Tutuila.
Vailoatai is a village in southwestern Tutuila,the main island of American Samoa. It is located on the eastern end of Leone Bay. The village is known for its beautiful malae,nested along the island's rugged southern coast and lined by the fale tali mālōof its village chiefs.
The Attorney General of American Samoa is the chief law enforcement officer and chief legal advisor to the American Samoa Government.
Tuālā-tai County is one of the five counties that make up the Western District of American Samoa.
Gaoteote Palaie Tofau is an American Samoan politician serving as a member and president of the American Samoa Senate. Tofau first took office in January 2004 after serving as a member of the American Samoa House of Representatives.