U.S. top court deals blow to Puerto Rico sovereignty claim

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Puerto Rico cannot pursue charges against people for the same crime that federal authorities have already prosecuted them, dealing a blow to the U.S. territory's claim that while it is not a state it should be treated like one.

The court ruled 6-2 in favor of defendants Luis Sanchez Valle and Jaime Gomez Vazquez, who were charged with illegally selling guns in 2008 by Puerto Rican authorities as well as federal prosecutors.

The two pleaded guilty to the federal charges and then argued that Puerto Rico's indictments should be dismissed because of the double jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution that bars people from being prosecuted twice for the same offense.

A trial judge dismissed the Puerto Rico charges, but they were reinstated by an appeals court. In a March 2015 ruling, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court ruled against prosecutors, prompting the territory to appeal to the high court.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-puertorico-idUSKCN0YV1Y5

---

World | Thu Jun 9, 2016 1:43pm EDT
BY LAWRENCE HURLEY

[cstanleytech]

1. Hopefully this will help act a goad to get them to finally make a decision on if they want

statehood or to become their own country.

[forest444]

2. My advice to those of our Boricua friends who favor independence:

Don't do it.

If, by some unlikely chance, Puerto Rico were to ever achieve independence, Washington itself would take care to sabotage their fledgling nation by using vulture funds to keep them insolvent for starters (and it would make little difference which party was in power). It's a noble goal; but it's just not worth it.

[DemMomma4Sanders]

3. That is the worst arguement against statehood...its sounds like an argument for building a coalition

and declaring war on Corporate DC.