Puerto Rico Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Law=== {{main|Constitution of Puerto Rico|Law of Puerto Rico}} The insular legal system is a blend of [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] and the [[common law]] systems. Puerto Rico is the only current U.S. jurisdiction whose legal system operates primarily in a language other than American English: namely, [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. Because the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]] operates primarily in English, all Puerto Rican attorneys must be bilingual in order to litigate in English in [[United States federal courts|U.S. federal courts]], and litigate federal preemption issues in Puerto Rican courts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Britt |title=Research Guides: Commonwealth Caribbean Law Research Guide: Puerto Rico |url=https://guides.law.fsu.edu/caribbean/puertorico |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=guides.law.fsu.edu |language=en |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119165910/https://guides.law.fsu.edu/caribbean/puertorico |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=March 2021}} [[Title 48 of the United States Code]] outlines the role of the United States Code to United States territories and insular areas such as Puerto Rico. After the U.S. government assumed control of Puerto Rico in 1901, it initiated legal reforms resulting in the adoption of codes of criminal law, criminal procedure, and civil procedure modeled after those then in effect in [[California]]. Although Puerto Rico has since followed the federal example of transferring criminal and civil procedure from [[statutory law]] to rules promulgated by the judiciary, several portions of its criminal law still reflect the influence of the [[California Penal Code]]. The judicial branch is headed by the [[Chief Justice|chief justice]] of the [[Puerto Rico Supreme Court]], which is the only appellate court required by the Constitution. All other courts are created by the [[Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilson|first=Steven H.|title=The U.S. Justice System An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2021|isbn=978-1-59884-305-7}}</ref> There is also a [[United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico|Federal District Court for Puerto Rico]], and someone accused of a criminal act at the federal level may not be accused for the same act in a Commonwealth court, and vice versa, since Puerto Rico as an unincorporated territory lacks sovereignty separate from Congress as a state does.<ref name="Martínez Torres">{{cite web |url=http://www.ramajudicial.pr/ts/2015/2015tspr25.pdf |title=Opinión del Tribunal emitida por el Juez Asociado señor Martínez Torres |publisher=El Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico |work=Legal Document |date=20 March 2015 |access-date=7 February 2016 |author=Martínez Torres, Juez (Judge) |archive-date=22 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122145414/http://www.ramajudicial.pr/ts/2015/2015tspr25.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Such a parallel accusation would constitute [[double jeopardy]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page