Talk:Political status of Puerto Rico/Archives/2010/January

United States v. Sanchez 992 F.2d 1143
No. 90-5749 United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit June 4, 1993.

--Seablade (talk) 04:58, 20 January 2010 (UTC)


 * OK, but what's your point? what are you saying/proposing/supporting/objecting to? Mercy11 (talk) 06:48, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

I am not objecting nothing, I am just providing an additional reference source that support the article just as is.

--Seablade (talk) 17:06, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

Citing:

With each new organic act, first the Foraker Act in 1900, then the Jones Act in 1917, and then the Federal Relations Act in 1950 and later amendments, Congress has simply delegated more authority to Puerto Rico over local matters. But this has not changed in any way Puerto Rico's constitutional status as a territory, or the source of power over Puerto Rico. Congress continues to be the ultimate source of power pursuant to the Territory Clause of the Constitution. 831 F.2d at 1176 (Torruella, J. concurring).

The development of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has not given its judicial tribunals a source of punitive authority which is independent of the United States Congress and derived from an "inherent sovereignty" of the sort supporting the Supreme Court's decisions involving the states (Heath, supra) and Native American tribes (Wheeler, supra). Congress may unilaterally repeal the Puerto Rican Constitution or the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act13 and replace them with any rules or regulations of its choice. Despite passage of the Federal Relations Act and the Puerto Rican Constitution, Puerto Rican courts continue to derive their authority to punish from the United States Congress and prosecutions in Puerto Rican courts do not fall within the dual sovereignty exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause. Consequently, Rafael and Luis Sanchez were twice prosecuted by the government of the United States and we turn to consider whether they were twice prosecuted for the "same offence" in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause.

--Seablade (talk) 05:54, 21 January 2010 (UTC)