Tag: United States Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court Leaves in Place USVI, Puerto Rico Cockfighting Ban

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is leaving in place a federal law that bars cockfighting in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The high court on Tuesday turned away a challenge to the law. As is typical, the high court did not explain why it declined to take the case. Congress in 2018 changed […]

AG Says Territorial Residents Are Entitled To Same Benefits As People On Mainland

WASHINGTON — The Virgin Islands Attorney General’s Office has joined the legal fight for parity in Supplemental Security Income benefits denied to territorial residents in the Supreme Court case United States v. Vaello Madero. The case challenges the fact that otherwise eligible citizens can be denied Supplemental Security Income (SSI) simply because they happen to […]

Can Congress Prohibit Cockfighting In Puerto Rico Via Its Commerce Power?

Ángel Manuel Ortiz‐​Díaz is the owner of two cockfighting venues and a breeder and owner of more than 200 gamecocks. Deeply ingrained in Puerto Rico’s history, tradition, and culture, cockfighting is commonplace on the island. The heavily regulated industry has grown to support more than 11,000 jobs and injects approximately $65 million annually into Puerto Rico’s […]

U.S. Supreme Court To Examine Puerto Rico’s Exclusion From Benefits Program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to decide the legality of a decades-old congressional decision to exclude Puerto Rico from a federal program that provides benefits to low-income elderly, blind and disabled people. The justices took up a U.S. government appeal originally filed by Republican former President Donald Trump’s administration of a […]