The Office of the Attorney General says Guam’s justice system is operating under growing pressure — with too few attorneys handling everything from criminal prosecutions to government contract reviews. At a sometimes emotional and combative budget hearing, AG Doug Moylan warned that without more funding, the office risks falling further behind.

It was a packed hearing room at the Guam Congress Building as attorneys and staff from the Office of the Attorney General filled rows in support of their Fiscal Year 2027 budget request. The OAG requested $24 million from lawmakers – an increase of $3.2M from last year’s request, with half of that amount coming from lapsed funds.

Moylan said those lapses were not from a lack of need, but from the office’s continued struggle to hire and keep attorneys, adding, “The attorneys that are under me are expensive. And because of the economic curve, with fewer attorneys in a community, the price goes up. Supply, demand.”

Currently, they have about 30 attorneys. Moylan stated they need at least 50 to operate more effectively, and as many as 96 to fully handle their lawful duties while allowing staff to maintain a healthier workload. He argued that attracting attorneys to Guam has become even more difficult as the island faces increased crime, economic struggles, and quality of life concerns.

The hearing also touched on the office’s billboards and social media campaigns, which Moylan defended as an attempt to keep public attention focused on crime, education, and community issues.

“I am not an attorney general that keeps quiet and doesn’t give an opinion on things," Moylan asserted. "I think that the free expression and the ability to freely talk brings things to the top and to the forefront, like our billboards.”

AG Moylan also acknowledged the demands of working inside his office – saying his expectations in terms of loyalty and productivity are high. “Because how can we do what we promised during an election without having a staff of dedicated people that aren’t going to look at you sideways and say, ‘I don’t agree with you, Mr. Attorney general,’?...if you don’t agree with the AG, then don’t work in his law firm," he continued.

Lawmakers later questioned backlogs in the Solicitor’s Division – the team responsible for reviewing government contracts, memorandums of agreement, and federal grants. Deputy AG Norman Lee Miller said the division received 661 requests for review over the last year, completed 418, but have 243 still pending – all with just four full-time attorneys.

Moylan shared many of his attorneys are pulled toward criminal prosecution work instead, sharing, “We get 14 arrests and in 48 hours you need to…process them."

Chief Prosecutor Curtis Van De Veld then further described an office operating under constant strain, saying employees routinely work through weekends, handling heavy caseloads and staff shortages. He also claimed he worked through months without pay last year after his contract was not signed by the governor.

“We’re not asking for you to solve all of our problems. We’re just asking to make sure that you appropriate enough money for us to be able to do our jobs and try to recruit people" said Van de Veld.

By the end of the hearing, the OAG’s message to lawmakers was clear: without more attorneys — and the funding to recruit and keep them — the pressures on Guam’s justice system could continue to grow.