SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO—Judges on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit last month traded their 13-story home base in Boston’s Seaport district for a Spanish style courthouse sandwiched between palm trees in the Caribbean.
San Juan in winter sounds like a nice getaway, and the judges hear that a lot. But the change of venue is tricky, the schedule is packed, and some Puerto Ricans—who can’t vote in presidential elections or access many government programs—remain torn over the US’s second-highest court system handling cases on the island.
The twice-yearly First Circuit sittings in San Juan, which have been going on for more than 70 years, “make palpable that Puerto Rico is part and parcel of the First Circuit even though we are separated by an ocean,” said Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach, chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
But members of El Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico, a local bar association, would prefer the federal court have no presence on the island, saying it subjects citizens to a legal system and language they view as foreign.
“There is tension,” acknowledges Senior First Circuit Judge Bruce Selya, who has made countless trips since he joined the court in 1986. “There is no question about it.”
‘A Moral Question’
In Puerto Rico, despite the application of most federal laws, the territory's 3 million citizens are also governed by their own constitution. Some attorneys refuse to practice federal law, viewing the federal judiciary's presence as an imposition and a manifestation of what they see as US colonial power. Moreover, the requirement for English proficiency in federal courts poses a challenge, with 95% of Puerto Ricans speaking Spanish at home. This linguistic barrier potentially skews juries toward a more educated, wealthier demographic. The moral dilemma extends to young lawyers, like Fermín Arraiza, who question participating in a system they oppose.
