Opinion ID: 203513
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Litigation in the Commonwealth Courts

Text: We provide a brief background of the proceedings in the Commonwealth courts as outlined in the December 2006 Puerto Rico Supreme Court decision in PAC v. PIP . Puerto Rican law provides a procedure for reviewing Commission decisions in the Puerto Rico courts. P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 16, § 3016a. Sometime in November 2004 after the election, CAP and PPR filed suit in Puerto Rico's Court of First Instance, Superior Part of San Juan, requesting the repeal of the Commission's decision authorizing the PIP to seek re-enrollment. The complaint also sought an injunction to forbid PIP from using public funds in the re-registration drive. That initial Commonwealth court suit [4] ultimately resulted in a preliminary injunction on December 2, 2004 ordering PIP to cease its use of public funds and use of almost all equipment purchased or leased with Electoral Fund subsidies. CAP also filed another complaint [5] on November 22, 2004, docketed as KPE-04-3623, challenging the Commission's authorization of PIP's re-registration, a case which ultimately reached the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and resulted in the December 2006 PAC v. PIP opinion. The Court of First Instance determined that the issue presented was whether the Commission had violated Section 8.3 of the Regulation of Enrollment of Parties by Petition, which prohibits registration as a party by petition prior to December 31 in an election year. The Court of First Instance affirmed the finding of the Commission, concluding that it had validly interpreted its regulations. The Puerto Rico Intermediate Appeals Forum then affirmed the ruling on the regulation issued by the Court of First Instance. Finally, on December 29, 2006, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court reviewed and affirmed the appeals court's decision on certiorari. PAC v. PIP, 2006 TSPR 193. It upheld the appeals court's refusal to consider claims outside of those related to the Commission's compliance with the regulation, since these were the only issues properly before the Court of First Instance. More specifically, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court considered Section 8.3 of the Regulation of Enrollment of Parties by Petition and found that even if the Commission had violated its own regulation in authorizing the re-registration of PIP, that regulation was contrary to the intent of the Puerto Rico legislature in drafting the electoral law. Therefore, the Supreme Court concluded, the Commission did not err in permitting the PIP's certification. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court decision was thus not concerned with whether the signature drive by the PIP to become a party by petition was conducted in a fraudulent manner, with the Commission's abetting that conduct.