Balzac v. Porto Rico

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants=Balzac v. Porto Rico
ArgueDate=March 20
ArgueYear=1922
DecideDate=April 10
DecideYear=1922
FullName=Balzac v. People of Porto Rico
USVol=258
USPage=298
Citation=
Prior=
Subsequent=
Holding=Sixth Amendment protections do not apply to unincorporated territories of the United States.
SCOTUS=1922
Majority=Taft
JoinMajority=McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, Pitney, McReynolds, Brandeis, Sutherland
Concurrence=Holmes
LawsApplied=

"Balzac v. Porto Rico", ussc|258|298|1922, was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution did not apply to territories not incorporated into the union. It originated when Jesús M. Balzac was prosecuted for criminal libel in a district court of Puerto Rico. Balzac declared that his rights had been violated under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as he was denied a trial by jury, since the code of criminal procedure of Puerto Rico did not grant a jury trial in misdemeanor cases. In the appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the lower courts on the island in deciding that the provisions of the Constitution did not apply to a territory that belonged to the United States but was not incorporated into the Union. It has become known as one of the "Insular Cases".

ee also

*List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 258

Further reading

*cite book |chapter="Balzac v. Porto Rico" (1922), the Insular cases (1901), and Puerto Rico's status in the American legal system |title=Latinos and American Law: Landmark Supreme Court Cases |last=Soltero |first=Carlos R. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, TX |isbn=0292714114 |pages=19–34

External links

* [http://www.enfacto.com/case/U.S./258/298/ Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1922)] (opinion full text).