Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox SCOTUS case

|Litigants=Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle

|ArgueDate=January 13

|ArgueYear=2016

|DecideDate=June 9

|DecideYear=2016

|Docket=15-108

|USVol=579

|USPage=59

|ParallelCitations=136 S. Ct. 1863; 195 L. Ed. 2d 179

|FullName=Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Petitioner v. Luis M. Sanchez Valle, et al.

|Prior=Pueblo v. Sanchez Valle, 192 D.P.R. 594, 2015 TSPR 25 (Mar. 20, 2015); cert. granted, 136 S. Ct. 28 (2015).

|Holding=The dual sovereignty doctrine does not apply to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Therefore, the Double Jeopardy Clause bars Puerto Rico and the United States from successively prosecuting a single person for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws.

|Majority=Kagan

|JoinMajority=Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Alito

|Concurrence=Ginsburg

|JoinConcurrence=Thomas

|Concurrence2=Thomas (in part)

|Dissent=Breyer

|JoinDissent=Sotomayor

| LawsApplied=U.S. Const. amend. V; Puerto Rico Arms Act of 2000

}}

Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle, 579 U.S. 59 (2016), is a criminal case that came before the Supreme Court of the United States, which considered whether Puerto Rico and the federal government of the United States are separate sovereigns for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/us/politics/justices-hear-case-over-puerto-ricos-sovereignty.html |title=Justices Hear Case Over Puerto Rico's Sovereignty |first=Adam |last=Liptak |date=2016-01-13 |accessdate=2016-01-13 |newspaper=The New York Times }}

In essence, the clause establishes that an individual cannot be tried for the same offense twice under the same sovereignty.

The petitioner claimed that Puerto Rico has a different sovereignty because of its political status while others claimed that it does not, including the respondent, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, and the Solicitor General of the United States.{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/puerto-rico-sovereignty-supreme-court_56816a76e4b0b958f659eee5 |title=Puerto Rico Is Up In Arms Because The Obama Administration Basically Just Called It A Colony |first=Christian |last=Farias |date=2015-12-30 |accessdate=2016-01-13 |newspaper=The Huffington Post }}

In a 6–2 decision, the Court affirmed that the Double Jeopardy Clause bars Puerto Rico and the United States from successively prosecuting the same person for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws.

The decision was affirmed 6-2 in an opinion by Justice Kagan on June 9, 2016. Justice Ginsburg filed a concurring opinion in which Justice Thomas joined. Justice Thomas filed an opinion, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.

Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Sotomayor joined.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/puerto-rico-v-sanchez-valle/|title=Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle}}