Law Commons^™

Puerto Rico: The Island Of Infringement? An Analysis Of The Intersectionality Of Eleventh Amendment Sovereign Immunity And Federal False Endorsement Claims, Robert Hilton

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This Note delves into the complex legal landscape of Puerto Rico’s application of sovereign immunity in the context of federal false endorsement claims, focusing particularly on the recent case involving the unauthorized use of Hall of Fame baseball player Roberto Clemente’s name and likeness. It critically examines the intersectionality of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity with the Lanham Act’s Section 43(a), highlighting the challenges faced in enforcing intellectual property rights within unincorporated territories of the United States.

The analysis begins by exploring the historical basis of sovereign immunity and its evolution from common law to the intricacies of the Eleventh Amendment. …

In Citizenship We Trust? The Citizenship Question Need Not Impede Puerto Rican Decolonization, Jimmy Mcdonough

Michigan Law Review

Puerto Rico is an uncomfortable reminder of the democratic deficits within the world’s oldest constitutional democracy. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens who live in a U.S. territory that is subject to the plenary authority of Congress, to which they cannot elect voting members. In 2022, under unified Democratic control for the first time in a decade, Congress considered the Puerto Rico Status Act, legislation that would finally decolonize Puerto Rico. The Status Act offered Puerto Rican voters three alternatives to the colonial status quo—statehood, independence, or sovereignty in free association—and committed Congress to implementing whichever alternative won majority support from …

Why Is There No Social Citizenship In Puerto Rico? The Demise Of Section 20, Haley Powell

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

Part I will define T.H. Marshall’s theory of citizenship rights and explain how that framework pertains to the denial of social welfare rights in Puerto Rico’s constitution. It will also delineate the larger context of social welfare in the United States using the contract versus charity paradigm posited by two historians, New School Professor Nancy Fraser and New York University Professor Linda Gordon. Part II will explore the legislative history of the Puerto Rican Constitution at the Puerto Rican Constitutional Convention and the U.S. Congress debates following the convention. Part III will examine the ramifications of the removal of Section …

Does The Constitution Follow The Flag? The Paradox Of Puerto Rican Identity And Citizenship, Laura Somoza Velez

CMC Senior Theses

How do identity and citizenship interact? Puerto Rico’s current political status is that of an unincorporated, organized territory of the United States, under the shiny title of ‘Commonwealth.’ Although they have US Citizenship, Puerto Rican residents aren’t protected by the US Constitution. This source of dual identification, American and Puerto Rican, creates a unique circumstance where questions of identity, and belonging naturally arise. In this thesis, I aim to answer how the citizenship condition created in Puerto Rico and how it is experienced measure up to current debates and scholarship surrounding citizenship. Achieved through a historical analysis of the formation …

The Abortion Archipelago: A Potential Return To San Juan Post Dobbs, Grant Albert

FIU Law Review

This paper will discuss whether the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico could be another option for women to travel to and from to terminate their pregnancy following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The 2020 Revision Of The Puerto Rican Civil Code: A Brief Explanation Of Major Changes, Luis Muñiz-Argüelles

Journal of Civil Law Studies

Puerto Rico is with Louisiana one of the two United States jurisdictions having kept the civil law tradition as the bedrock of its private law. One of the last Spanish colonies, Puerto Rico became a US Territory in 1899. The Spanish Civil Code was replaced by a Puerto Rican Civil Code in 1930. A revision process spanned over a period of 23 years, ending with the adoption of a new Civil Code in 2020. After a presentation of the revision process, this report presents and discusses the changes and innovations in family law, property, contractual obligations, torts, and successions, also …

The Law Of The Territories Of The United States In Puerto Rico, The Oldest Colony In The World, Carlos Iván Gorrín Peralta

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The territorial law and policy of the United States changed towards the turn of the 20th century, as territorial expansion was no longer motivated by the extension of national borders, but by geopolitical, strategic and economic objectives. The new territories acquired in the Spanish American war were different from those previously annexed. The resulting constitutional doctrine of the Insular Cases differentiated the previous incorporated territories from the new unincorporated territories, which were not destined to be part of the U.S. nor to be admitted as new states. Despite purported changes in the relation with the United States in 1950-1952, Puerto …

Climate Migration And Displacement: A Case Study Of Puerto Rican Women In Connecticut, Camila Bustos, Bruni Pizarro, Tabitha Sookdeo

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The climate crisis is increasingly forcing people to flee their homes, whether internally or across state borders. However, existing international and domestic law does not provide sufficient protection for those forcibly displaced by extreme weather events. In 2021, the Biden administration issued an executive order and subsequently a report on the impact of climate change on migration, which marked a first step in federal policy toward recognition of the nexus between climate change and displacement. At the local level, Connecticut has already become a destination for climate-displaced people. For instance, after Hurricane Maria landed in Puerto Rico in 2017, approximately …

Dual Sovereignty In The U.S. Territories, Emmanuel Hiram Arnaud

Articles

This Essay examines the emergence and application of the “ultimate source” test and sheds light on the dual sovereign doctrine’s patently colonial framework, particularly highlighting the paternalistic relationship it has produced between federal and territorial prosecutorial authorities.

Uncertainty Surrounding Takings Claimants’ Rights In Municipal Bankruptcies, Gillian Deery

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Governments in the United States and its territories have the power to exercise eminent domain so long as they provide property owners with the constitutionally guaranteed “just compensation.” The Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause specifically prescribes this remedy for parties whose property has been subject to a government taking. “Just compensation” has proven to be an issue in the context of bankruptcy, as bankruptcy law inherently allows debtors to alter their obligations to their creditors.

In response to Puerto Rico’s financial crisis, Congress enacted the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”), which created a modified version of …

The New Insular Cases, Willie Santana

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The Insular Cases is a name given to a series of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with the status of the territories the United States acquired at the turn of the twentieth century. The Insular Cases rely on outmoded assumptions about the peoples who live in those islands, ninety-eight percent of whom belong to racial and ethnic minorities, and extend the extraconstitutional doctrine of territorial incorporation, a Plessy-style doctrine of separate governance for these territories that is different than the territories that preceded them. These cases, and the doctrine they announced, have been universally decried as …

Toward Self-Determination In The U.S. Territories: The Restorative Justice Implications Of Rejecting The Insular Cases, Sarah M. Kelly

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Conservatives and liberals alike are increasingly calling for condemnation of the Insular Cases—a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases from the early 1900s, in which the Court developed the doctrine of territorial incorporation to license the United States’ indefinite holding of overseas colonial possessions. In March 2021, members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced House Resolution 279, which declares that the Insular Cases should be rejected as having no place in U.S. constitutional law. Moreover, in 2022, Justice Gorsuch called for the Supreme Court to squarely overrule the cases.

For many, rejecting the Insular Cases is a long-overdue reckoning …

Puerto Rico's Second-Class Statehood: The Impact Of Restricted Access To Federal Public Benefits Programs On Puerto Rico's Economic Recovery, Evette Ocasio

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The "Law To Use The Mark The Delpaís," Act 195-2016: Case Study Of A Puerto Rican Certification Mark With Potential Of Becoming A Geographic Indication For Economic Development, Paola Gabriela Zaragoza Cardenales

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

In 2016, the Puerto Rican Congress codified the “Law for the use of the DelPaís Mark” (the DelPaís Law), creating a composite certification mark called Productos DelPaís de Puerto Rico (the DelPaís Mark) for raw fruits, milk, honey, meats, egg, fish, ornamental plants, spices, vegetables, starches, and value-added products. The Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture intended the DelPaís Mark to function as a certification mark and Geographical Indication (GI) to differentiate local from imported products to promote purchasing of locally produced items and eventually export internationally. A GI is a source identifier identifying that a place makes a particular product …

Quiescent Sovereignty Of U.S. Territories, Michael J. Kelly

Marquette Law Review

Under modern democratic theory, the font of sovereignty springs from the people; however, traces of its past as a power emanating from the Crown continue to haunt the domestic and international status of sub-sovereign legal entities such as U.S. Territories. Quiescent sovereignty describes that which is possessed by the people of the Territories; a sovereignty that is theirs, but that is wielded on their behalf by the federal government. Although fiduciary responsibilities attach to this arrangement, cycles of attention/neglect are the modus vivendi. Bilateral relationships between the Territories and the federal government are varied, but such differences should not impact …

A Constitutional Theory Of Territoriality: The Case Of Puerto Rico, Joel Colón-Ríos, Yaniv Roznai

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article offers an analysis of the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States that, unlike most of the existing literature, goes beyond discussions of the jurisprudence of U.S. courts and avoids providing merely descriptive or justificatory accounts. Using the tools of constitutional theory, we seek to describe the nature of what we call the “basic structure of territoriality,” the way that structure reproduces itself, and the possibility of its replacement. The basic structure of territoriality, we argue, is comprised by ten fundamental legal rules and five principles. Although those principles are not legally enforceable, they inform in important …

Citizenship, Race, And Statehood, Kristina M. Campbell

Journal Articles

This Article will discuss the interplay between citizenship, race, and ratification of statehood in the United States, both historically and prospectively. Part II will discuss the development and history of the Insular Cases and the creation of the Territorial Incorporation Doctrine (“TID”), focusing on the Territory of Puerto Rico and how the issues of citizenship, race, and statehood have evolved in shadow of empire as a result. Part III will look back on the admission to the Union of New Mexico and Arizona—the forty-seventh and forty-eighth states—and discuss the substantial difficulties these territories had in getting admitted for statehood due …

Eminent Domain And Unfettered Discretion: Lessons From A History Of U.S. Territorial Takings, Jill M. Fraley

Scholarly Articles

Eminent domain is a minimal constitutional protection for private property and one that is subject to far more discretion than previously recognized by scholars. This Article traces a novel legal history of land takings within the U.S. Territories, focusing on some of the most egregious and controversial incidents and problematic patterns originating within eminent domain law. Comparing this history to recent research that demonstrates how takings in the States have disproportionately impacted Black communities, this Article articulates three patterns of injustices in takings echoing between Black mainland communities and indigenous communities in the Territories: large-scale federally funded actions, local government …

The Flag Can Travel But The Constitution Must Ask Permission: How The First Circuit And The District For Puerto Rico Commit To Equal Protection Without Abandoning The Insular Cases Doctrine, Alejandro J. Anselmi González

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

For American citizens, one of the most important safeguards guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States is the equal protection of the law. The United States prides itself on the doctrine and jurisprudence of equal protection because of the social progression achieved since the end of the Civil War. The Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution eliminated the institution of slavery and were supposed to guarantee equal civil and legal status to all citizens. The Constitution, however, has not been consistently interpreted in this way since the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898. The nation emerged from this conflict …

The Right To Food In Puerto Rico: Where Colonialism And Disaster Meet, Gabriela Valentín Díaz

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Statehood Admissions Codification As A Protection Of Voting Rights, James Caleb Uhl

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Historically, the process for admitting territories into the United States as states has been ambiguous and subsequently discriminatory. This ambiguity, when viewed in conjunction with the inherent voting rights of United States citizens, proves a systematic violation of said rights. By defining the statehood admission process, the voting rights of United States citizens residing in territories will no longer be violated. This article proposes legislation that includes five distinct criteria intended to rectify the ambiguity and subsequent discrimination in current admissions procedures while still allowing Congress to retain its constitutionally delegated processional authority.

A Perfectly Empty Gift, Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Almost Citizens: Puerto Rico, the U.S. Constitution, and Empire. by Sam Erman.

Puerto Rico’S Separate And Unequal Status Under U.S. Law, Brendan Williams

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

No Voice, No Exit, But Loyalty? Puerto Rico And Constitutional Obligation, Guy-Uriel Charles, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

The Michigan Law Review is honored to have supported Professors Charles and Fuentes-Rohwer's Essay on the subjugated status of Puerto Rico as an "unincorporated territory." This Essay contextualizes Puerto Rico not as an anomalous colonial vestige but as fundamentally a part of the United States' ongoing commitment to racial economic domination. We are thrilled to highlight this work, which indicts our constitutional complacence with the second-class status of Puerto Rican citizens and demands a national commitment to self-determination for Puerto Rico.

No Voice, No Exit, But Loyalty? Puerto Rico And Constitutional Obligation, Guy-Uriel E. Charles, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Essay contextualizes Puerto Rico not as an anomalous colonial vestige but as fundamentally a part of the United States' ongoing commitment to racial economic domination. We are thrilled to highlight this work, which indicts our constitutional complacence with the second-class status of Puerto Rican citizens and demands a national commitment to self-determination for Puerto Rico.

Territorial Exceptionalism And The American Welfare State, Andrew Hammond

UF Law Faculty Publications

Federal law excludes millions of American citizens from crucial public benefits simply because they live in the United States territories. If the Social Security Administration determines a low-income individual has a disability, that person can move to another state and continue to receive benefits. But if that person moves to, say, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands, that person loses their right to federal aid. Similarly with SNAP (food stamps), federal spending rises with increased demand—whether because of a recession, a pandemic, or a climate disaster. But unlike the rest of the United States, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, …

A Perfectly Empty Gift, Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus

Faculty Scholarship

“Almost citizens.” What does that even mean? It’s like being “kind of pregnant,” isn’t it? In other words, nonsense. Citizenship isn’t an “almost” kind of thing. It’s all or nothing. Unless, I suppose, the word “almost” is used in a simple temporal sense – as in, “Our naturalization ceremony is tomorrow. We’re almost citizens! Yay!” There, the phrase “almost citizens” makes sense. Otherwise not. Right?

Wrong. “Almost citizens,” in a sense as ambiguous as it sounds, is what Almost Citizens: Puerto Rico, the U S Constitution, and Empire is about. “Almost citizens” describes what Puerto Ricans were from 1898, when …

Can Wage Boards Revive U.S. Labor?: Marshaling Evidence From Puerto Rico, Cesar F. Rosado Marzan

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Making The Case For A Right To A Healthy Environment For The Protection Of Vulnerable Communities: A Case Of Coal-Ash Disaster In Puerto Rico, Sarah Dávila-Ruhaak

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The connection between the environment and human rights is not a surprising one. The enjoyment of human rights depends on a person’s ability to live free from interference and to have his or her rights protected. The interdependence of human rights and the protection of the environment is manifested in the full and effective enjoyment of the right to a healthy environment. This article argues that in order to protect vulnerable persons and communities facing environmental harm, a human rights framework—specifically the right to a healthy environment—must be applied. A human rights approach complements environmental justice work, recognizing that individuals …

Puerto Rico Post-Hurricane Maria: Reconstruction And The Pathway To Self-Determination, Ameya A. Lele

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.