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 Puerto Rican and American flags flutter in the Old Town district of San Juan. (Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS, AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 WASHINGTON — Puerto Rico has its own Constitution and elects its own leaders, but it remains under the thumb of Congress, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 6-2 decision. 
 
 The case involved a simple criminal prosecution for firearms sales, but the broader dispute focused on the commonwealth's autonomy. Lawyers for Puerto Rico argued that it should be able to try two men who already had pleaded guilty in federal court. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the majority, said that would amount to double jeopardy. 
 
 "There is no getting away from the past," Kagan wrote. "Because the ultimate source of Puerto Rico's prosecutorial power is the federal government ... the Commonwealth and the United States are not separate sovereigns." 
 
 The court reasoned that although Congress in 1950 gave Puerto Rico the authority to establish its own government under its own constitution, that does not break the chain of command that originates with Congress. As a result, the commonwealth should be treated the same as other U.S. territories. 
 
 While the 50 states and even Indian tribe enjoy sovereign powers that preceded the union or were enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, Kagan wrote, Puerto Rico in 1952 "became a new kind of political entity, still closely associated with the United States but governed in accordance with, and exercising self-rule through, a popularly ratified constitution." 
 
 The island's Constitution, significant though it is, does not break the chain," she said. 
 
 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg went further in a concurrence, suggesting that the high court should hear a case that tests whether states and the federal government should remain able to try defendants for the same crime. 
 
 During oral argument in January, a majority of justices appeared to side with the Obama administration, which argued that as a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico cannot try the gun dealers after federal courts have acted. "Congress is the one who makes the rules," said Nicole Saharsky, an assistant solicitor general. 
 
 Most of the justices said the island's increased autonomy did not make it independent. "If you go back, the ultimate source of authority is Congress," Kagan said at the time, a conclusion she reiterated in the court's 18-page opinion. 
 
 If both the federal and commonwealth judiciaries could rule on the same cases, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, it would present "real practicalities of multiple prosecutions." 
 
 But Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, who both dissented Thursday, adamantly stood by Puerto Rico — with Breyer warning that if the court ruled against it, "that has enormous implications" for setting back the island's legal status. 
 
 "Longstanding customs, actions and attitudes, both in Puerto Rico and on the mainland, uniformly favor Puerto Rico's position — that it is sovereign, and has been since 1952, for purposes of the double jeopardy clause," Breyer wrote in their dissent. 
 
 Sotomayor, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico, said during oral argument that the island is "estado libre asociado" — a "free associated state." 
 
 The case was the first of two involving Puerto Rico to come before the high court this term. The justices also are weighing the commonwealth's effort to restructure part of its $70 billion public debt, an issue that is also before Congress. A federal appeals court blocked the restructuring because of conflicts with U.S. bankruptcy laws. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/28nqoa6 ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Puerto Rico in a politically charged dispute over the island's power to enforce its own criminal laws. 
 
 The justices ruled 6-2 that the U.S. territory can't prosecute people for local crimes if they've already been convicted of similar charges in federal court. 
 
 The ruling helps clarify the island's legal status at a time when the issue has caused deep divisions between officials from the U.S. and Puerto Rico. 
 
 The court sided with two men who said the principle of double jeopardy prevented Puerto Rico officials from prosecuting them on weapons charges after they had already pleaded guilty to federal charges for the same offense. 
 
 Puerto Rico officials had argued that the island could still bring charges under its own laws —something that the 50 states have power to do under the principle of state sovereignty. 
 
 Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said Congress remains the "ultimate source" of the island's legal power even though Puerto Rico has its own constitution. 
 
 "Put simply, Congress conferred the authority to create the Puerto Rico constitution, which in turn confers the authority to bring criminal charges," Kagan said. "That makes Congress the original source of power for Puerto Rico's prosecutors — as it is for the federal government's. The island's constitution, significant though it is, does not break the chain." 
 
 Justice Stephen Breyer dissented, saying that over time, the source of Puerto Rico's criminal law "ceased to be the U.S. Congress and became Puerto Rico itself, its people and its constitution." He was joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. 
 
 The case involves Luis Sanchez Valle and James Gomez Vazquez, who pleaded guilty in federal court to selling illegal firearms. When Puerto Rican officials later charged them under local laws, they moved to dismiss the charges on double jeopardy grounds. 
 
 The Puerto Rico Supreme Court ultimately sided with the men, ruling that the island is not a separate sovereign. The Puerto Rican government said that decision stripped the island of the ability to enforce its own criminal laws without federal interference and ignored the power of Puerto Rico's people to pass their own laws. 
 
 The Caribbean island has been a territory since the United States acquired it in 1898. It gained some autonomy in 1952 when it adopted its own constitution with the approval of Congress and was allowed to enact its own local laws. 
 
 The Obama administration had argued that Puerto Rico's power to enforce local laws really comes from Congress, which in theory could take it away. That position angered Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla, who claimed the government was reversing its prior position and standing in the way of "meaningful self-government" by the people of Puerto Rico. 
 
 Puerto Rico Justice Secretary Cesar Miranda said he respects the court's decision but stressed that his agency will use its authority to prosecute those who threaten the safety and security of all Puerto Ricans. 
 
 "The Supreme Court's decision has a limited impact on criminal prosecution," he said, adding that it is now up to Puerto Rico officials to decide the future of the island's relationship with the United States. 
 
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 Associated Press writer Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
– The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Puerto Rico in a politically charged dispute over the island's power to enforce its own criminal laws. The justices ruled 6-2 that the US territory can't prosecute people for local crimes if they've already been convicted of similar charges in US federal court, reports the AP. The ruling helps clarify the island's legal status at a time when the issue has caused deep divisions between officials from the US and Puerto Rico. The court sided with two men who said the principle of double jeopardy prevented Puerto Rico officials from prosecuting them on weapons charges after they had already pleaded guilty to federal charges for the same offense. Puerto Rico officials had argued that the island could still bring charges under its own laws—something that the 50 states have power to do under the principle of state sovereignty. But "there is no getting away from the past," wrote Justice Elena Kagan. "Because the ultimate source of Puerto Rico's prosecutorial power is the federal government ... the Commonwealth and the United States are not separate sovereigns." USA Today sums up the ruling thusly: "Puerto Rico has its own Constitution and elects its own leaders, but it remains under the thumb of Congress." Justice Stephen Breyer dissented from the majority decision, saying that over time, the source of Puerto Rico's criminal law "ceased to be the US Congress and became Puerto Rico itself, its people and its constitution." He was joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.