United States v. Santiago

OPINION AND ORDER

GUSTAVO A. GELPÍ, District Judge.

Defendant Ricardo Amaro Santiago (“Amaro”), challenges the jurisdiction of this court to sentence him, contending that the same is not a constitutional court under Article III of the United States Constitution. (See Docket No. 1029 at 6). Said motion is DENIED.

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed Public Law 89-571, 80 Stat. 764, which transformed the territorial Article IV federal district court in Puerto Rico to a constitutional Article III one. The congressional intent for this monumental metamorphosis cannot be any clearer:

There does…