Sec. 409. Judicial pronouncements

491 words·~2 min read·/bill/117/s/4560/is/section-409

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

A writ, action, indictment, cause, or proceeding pending in any court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as of the admission date— shall not abate by reason of the admission of the State of Puerto Rico into the Union of the United States; but shall, as the nature of the case may require— proceed within any appropriate State court established under the constitution of the State of Puerto Rico; or continue in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Any civil cause of action or criminal offense that arose or was committed before the admission date, but with respect to which no writ, action, indictment, or proceeding is pending on the admission date, shall be subject to prosecution in the appropriate State court or in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, to the same extent, and with the same right of appellate review, as if the State court had been established before the accrual of the cause of action or the commission of the offense.

The admission of the State of Puerto Rico into the Union of the United States shall not affect a change in the procedural or substantive laws with respect to a cause of action or criminal offense that arose or was committed as of the admission date. Any criminal offense described in subparagraph (A)— that was committed in violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be tried by the appropriate court of the State of Puerto Rico; and that was committed in violation of the laws of the United States shall be tried in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Parties to an action shall have the same rights of judicial review of final decisions of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico or the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in any case decided before the admission date, regardless of whether an appeal was perfected prior to the admission date. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States shall have the same jurisdiction in an action described in subparagraph

(A)as by law provided prior to the admission date. Any mandate issued after the admission date shall be to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico or a court of the State of Puerto Rico, as appropriate. Parties shall have the same rights of appeal from, and appellate review of, all orders, judgments, and decrees of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in any case pending on the admission date. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and the Supreme Court of the United States shall have the same jurisdiction in an action described in subparagraph

(A)as the jurisdiction provided in any case arising after the admission date.