Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
15-108
BETTY LUGO
CARMEN A. PACHECO
Puerto Rican Bar
Association, Inc.
340 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11201
blugo@pachegolugo.com
Counsel for Amici Curiae
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES....................................... ii
INTRODUCTION AND INTEREST OF THE
AMICI CURIAE...........................................................1
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT.....................................4
ARGUMENT ...............................................................6
A. The Insular Cases Are Based On
Political And Social Beliefs That Have
Long Since Been Rejected. ...............................6
1. The Roots Of The Insular Cases
Were In Misguided Racial And
Imperialist Ideas .........................................6
2. The Insular Cases Made These Now-
Discredited Beliefs The Basis For A
Rule Of Constitutional Law......................11
B. As A Result Of The Insular Cases,
Puerto Ricans And Other Territorial
Residents Still Lack Full Constitutional
Rights. .............................................................18
C. This Court Should Reject Any Further
Reliance On The Insular Cases......................21
1. In An Appropriate Case, The Insular
Cases Should Be Overruled ......................21
2. The Court Should Not Rely On The
Insular Cases In Deciding This Case .......24
CONCLUSION ..........................................................25
ii
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Page(s)
CASES
Califano v. Torres,
435 U.S. 1 (1978) (per curiam) ................19, 20, 21
De Lima v. Bidwell,
182 U.S. 1 (1901)......................................11, 12, 21
Downes v. Bidwell,
182 U.S. 244 (1901)...................................... passim
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—continued
Page(s)
Harris v. Rosario,
446 U.S. 651 (1980) (per curiam) ..................20, 21
Payne v. Tennessee,
501 U.S. 808 (1991)..............................................23
Reid v. Covert,
354 U.S. 1 (1957)..................................................18
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—continued
Page(s)
48 U.S.C. § 1421b(u)..................................................23
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—continued
Page(s)
OTHER AUTHORITIES
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—continued
Page(s)
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—continued
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—continued
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INTRODUCTION AND
INTEREST OF THE AMICI CURIAE1
The Constitution is the supreme law of the Na-
tion. But for more than three million U.S. citizens
who live in Puerto Rico, only portions of our founda-
tional document apply.
Pursuant to the Insular Cases—a series of deci-
sions by this Court dating from 1901—Puerto Rico is
undeserving of the full panoply of constitutional
rights because the island is “inhabited by alien races,
differing from us” (Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244,
287 (1901)). That holding reflects views from a by-
gone era. But while the views have long since disap-
peared from mainstream American thought, this
Court’s racially motivated precedents remain in
force, limiting the rights of millions of U.S. citizens
living in the territories.
The Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto
Rico (also known as the Puerto Rico Bar Association)
(the “Colegio”), founded in 1840, is the oldest profes-
sional organization in Puerto Rico and the Caribbe-
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
Over a century ago, in the wake of the Spanish-
American War, this Court issued a series of deci-
sions, now known collectively as the Insular Cases,
in which it addressed the question whether and to
what extent the Constitution applied, of its own
force, in the territories that the United States had
acquired in the conflict. The Court held that these
territories, though part of the United States, had not
been “incorporated” into the United States for consti-
tutional purposes and that most provisions of the
Constitution thus did not apply to their residents.
In this case, which presents the question wheth-
er Puerto Rico is a separate sovereign from the Unit-
ed States for purposes of the Double Jeopardy
Clause, this Court may be inclined to look to the In-
sular Cases for guidance. But it need not and should
not do so. The Insular Cases reflect badly outdated
theories of imperialism and racial inferiority and
have outlived their usefulness.
A.
The Insular Cases were decided during a heated
national debate over how to govern the territories
acquired by the United States in the Spanish-
American War. Some Americans argued that the
Constitution would apply in full to the new territo-
ries and lamented the consequences that would re-
sult. Others contended that the territories could and
should be treated as colonies whose residents would
not enjoy constitutional rights. The Insular Cases ul-
timately split the difference between these two posi-
tions, holding that the newly acquired lands were
unincorporated territories where the Constitution
would not fully apply without further congressional
5
BETTY LUGO
CARMEN A. PACHECO
Puerto Rican Bar
Association, Inc.
340 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11201
blugo@pachegolugo.com
Counsel for Amici Curiae
DECEMBER 2015