Editing Northern Mariana Islands (section)

===Judicial system===
Cases under federal law are heard by the [[District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands]], which was established by [[act of Congress]] in 1977, and began operations in January 1978. The court sits on the island of [[Saipan]] but may sit in other places within the commonwealth. The district court has the same jurisdiction as all other United States district courts, including diversity jurisdiction and bankruptcy jurisdiction. Appeals are taken to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit]]. As a [[United States territorial court]] established under Congress's territorial power granted by Article IV of the United States Constitution, judges do not have lifetime appointments, unlike the Article III courts in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Cases under territorial law are heard by the [[Superior Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands]], with appeals heard by the [[Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands]].

In June 2024, [[Julian Assange]] pleaded guilty in a court in Saipan, the capital of the US territory, before flying home to Australia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn00720gx5jo | title=Why Northern Mariana Islands hosted Julian Assange hearing }}</ref>