This position is in the excepted service and not subject to competitive service procedures. Merit promotion procedures do not apply.
The Associate Justice of American Samoa is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and receives professional supervision from the Chief Justice of American Samoa. The authorities and responsibilities of the Judicial Branch, including the Associate Justice, are contained in Title V of the American Samoa Code and Title III of the Revised Constitution of American Samoa.
The Office of Insular Affairs has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for situational telework. The Director of the Office of Insular Affairs does not involve himself in any way in the judicial decisions that the Associate Justice renders. However, for all other purposes, as an employee of the Office of Insular Affairs, the Associate Justice is supervised by the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, who conducts the Associate Justice’s annual personnel evaluation. For administrative purposes, e.g. time and attendance, annual and sick leave, the Associate Justice reports to the Director of the Policy Division of the Office of Insular Affairs.
The office has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for situational telework.
Summary
This position is in the excepted service and not subject to competitive service procedures. Merit promotion procedures do not apply.
The Associate Justice of American Samoa is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and receives professional supervision from the Chief Justice of American Samoa. The authorities and responsibilities of the Judicial Branch, including the Associate Justice, are contained in Title V of the American Samoa Code and Title III of the Revised Constitution of American Samoa.
The Office of Insular Affairs has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for situational telework. The Director of the Office of Insular Affairs does not involve himself in any way in the judicial decisions that the Associate Justice renders. However, for all other purposes, as an employee of the Office of Insular Affairs, the Associate Justice is supervised by the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, who conducts the Associate Justice’s annual personnel evaluation. For administrative purposes, e.g. time and attendance, annual and sick leave, the Associate Justice reports to the Director of the Policy Division of the Office of Insular Affairs.
The office has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for situational telework.
Major duties at the full performance level include, but are not limited to:
The jurisdiction of the High Court extends to the whole of American Samoa, including Swains Island and Rose Island. The High Court consists of an appellate division, a trial division, a probate division, and a land and titles division. The appellate division of the High Court consists of the Chief Justice, the Associate Justice, and all the associate judges. Sessions of the appellate division are held either before the Chief Justice and two Associate judges, or the Associate Justice and two associate judges. It has jurisdiction to review, on appeal, final decisions of the trial, probate, and land and titles divisions of the High Court.
The trial division of the High Court consist of the Chief Justice, The Associate Justice and all associate judges. The traffic department session of the trial division is held before the Chief Justice, or before the Associate Justice or before an associate judge or judges as are designated by the Chief Justice. The small claims department sessions of the trial division are held before three associate judges. All other sessions of the trial division are ordinarily held before the Chief Justice and two associate judges, or the Associate Justice and two associate judges. The presence of either the Chief Justice or Associate Justice, and of at least one associate judge is necessary to constitute a quorum for the trial and determination of a case or controversy. The trial and determination of a charge of treason, murder, manslaughter, or assault with intent to kill is before either the Chief Justice or Associate Justice, and four associate judges. It has jurisdiction in all civil cases, controversies, and matters except certain land and title matters and probate matters as dictated by law. In addition, the trial division has jurisdiction in all criminal cases, including the retrial of cases brought in the district courts as provided in Section 6601 of Title 15 of the American Samoan Code.
The probate division of the High Court consists of the Chief Justice and the Associate Justice. Session of the probate division may be held before either Justice alone. It has Jurisdiction over the probate of wills ; the appointment of executors, administrators, guardians and trustees; the audit and settlement of their accounts; the sale of real property of decedents and the distribution of decedent 's estates. The land and titles division of the High Court has exclusive jurisdiction in all matters relating to Samoan name and titles; to make such orders or declarations in respect to Samoan names and titles as may be necessary to preserve or define the same; and in all controversies relating to title to land. It consists of a presiding judge, who is either the Chief Justice or Associate Justice of the High Court, and all the associate judges of the High Court. All controversies relating to title and land are heard and decided by the presiding judge and two associate judges. On the hearing of a controversy relating to land, the decision of the presiding judge is final.
The Associate Justice is a member of the High Court and either the incumbent or the Chief Justice presides over all the division, except the matai title department of the land and titles division, the small claims department of the trial division and the traffic department of the trial division. When the Associate Justice sits as a member of the trial, land and titles, or appellate div is ion, he is the presiding judge.
You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. non-citizen national.
Subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination.
You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.
Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualification Requirements
You must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association AND you must (1) have at least ten years of professional legal experience following law school graduation and (2) meet at least three of the following criteria:
a. Academic standing in the top one-third of my law school graduating class.
b. Graduated with academic honors.
c. Significant participation on the law school's law review.
d. Significant participation in the law school's moot court competition.
e. Significant participation in a clinical legal aid program.
f. Significant summer law office clerk experience.
g. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.
GS-15 Requirements
You must meet the minimum qualification requirements, AND be an active member in good standing of the Bar of one of the several states, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.
Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4
Additional information
Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work with the Office of the Secretary. The preliminary background check consists of a search of Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense background investigation files and an FBI National Criminal History Fingerprint Check; it may take up to 3 weeks to complete. If selected for this position, you will be extended a tentative offer of employment pending a satisfactory background check. Current Federal employees or individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check; these will be handled on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Bureau security office.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made.
Please note that all required documentation is required for consideration for this position. If you do not provde the necessary documentation, you will not be considered. To preview questions please click here.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Your resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements as stated in this vacancy announcement and OPM qualification standards for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. It is strongly recommended that you use the USAJobs Resume Builder as it was designed to ensure that your resume includes the standard information needed. The Resume Builder is available at
(1) Resume showing relevant experience as written in your own words.
(2) Completed online Assessment Questionnaire;
(3) College/law school transcript for verification of qualifying education. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; Official transcripts will be requested from the selectee once selected.
(4) Bar certification;
(5) SF-50 if you are a current or former federal employee.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Your complete application, including required documents, must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
To apply on-line, you must complete and submit an application by accessing the USAJOBS website at www.usajobs.gov. To begin, click the Apply Online button near the bottom of this screen and follow the prompts to register into your USAJOBS account, answer the questions, and submit all required documents.
To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at www.usajobs.gov and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select Apply Online to continue.
Office of the Secretary of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20240
United States
Next steps
You can track the progress of your application package via your USAJobs account. You will receive an acknowledgment from USAJobs that your submission was successful, once we have received your on-line assessment questionnaire, resume and any supporting documentation. You will be notified of the status of your application via your USAJobs account after we conduct a qualification review of your complete application package. You will be contacted if further evaluation or interviews are required. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration. We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses, through reference and/or background checks, and/or verification of your education. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Your resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements as stated in this vacancy announcement and OPM qualification standards for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. It is strongly recommended that you use the USAJobs Resume Builder as it was designed to ensure that your resume includes the standard information needed. The Resume Builder is available at
(1) Resume showing relevant experience as written in your own words.
(2) Completed online Assessment Questionnaire;
(3) College/law school transcript for verification of qualifying education. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; Official transcripts will be requested from the selectee once selected.
(4) Bar certification;
(5) SF-50 if you are a current or former federal employee.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Your complete application, including required documents, must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
To apply on-line, you must complete and submit an application by accessing the USAJOBS website at www.usajobs.gov. To begin, click the Apply Online button near the bottom of this screen and follow the prompts to register into your USAJOBS account, answer the questions, and submit all required documents.
To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at www.usajobs.gov and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select Apply Online to continue.
Office of the Secretary of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20240
United States
Next steps
You can track the progress of your application package via your USAJobs account. You will receive an acknowledgment from USAJobs that your submission was successful, once we have received your on-line assessment questionnaire, resume and any supporting documentation. You will be notified of the status of your application via your USAJobs account after we conduct a qualification review of your complete application package. You will be contacted if further evaluation or interviews are required. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration. We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses, through reference and/or background checks, and/or verification of your education. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
