Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party v. Dalmau (Gustavo A. Gelpi, D.P.R. 3:07-cv-1867)
A political party filed a federal complaint in the District of Puerto Rico alleging that another party had been illegally registered as a political party for the 2008 elections. The district judge dismissed the action as a matter for Puerto Rico’s commonwealth courts. The court of appeals determined that the action was not necessarily foreclosed by commonwealth-court decisions, and the court of appeals held that it was error for the district judge to rely on original Spanish-language commonwealth-court opinions. In time, the action was dismissed as moot.
Subject: Getting on the ballot. Topics: Getting on the ballot; matters for state courts; attorney fees.
One of many Case Studies in Emergency Election Litigation.