Valenzuela-Alvarado, José-Enrico, XLIV Rev. Jur. Inter-American University Law, No.1, 197 (Aug.-May, 2009-2010) "Federal Civil Rights in PR"

Throughout my career in federal practice, I noticed that civil rights litigation in Puerto Rico is not broadly known by most of our colleagues. Different reasons contribute to such lack of general knowledge of said practice, like for example, the language, and the technicalities of the civil procedure rules that preclude competent attorneys to litigate in said forum. There are also political differences between attorneys regarding the presence of the Federal District Court in Puerto Rico. Said differences provoked that a considerable number of attorneys opted not to practice in the federal forum. Nevertheless, although both sides can have legitimate reasons, either to practice or not in said forum, the truth of the matter is that the Federal District Court does exist in Puerto Rico, and we should observe critically its deficiencies and its virtues. As to the virtues of the federal system, despite of the particular political views that any attorney has, we should adopt them for the benefit of our system. Likewise, if other jurisdictions within our hemisphere or in another continents have a positive outcome in pursuing justice, we as attorneys should review them, placing apart our prejudices and chauvinism. The instant law review pretends to contribute in several aspects to interested attorneys in federal practice, specifically in First Amendment litigation. First, I explain in short the history of the Civil Rights Act of 1961 and its consequences in federal litigation. Then, I proceed with a practical view of how to litigate, either from the plaintiff or from the defendant’s side of the coin within the federal forum, from the complaint until the pretrial stage. For such, the federal rules of civil procedure are intertwined with the legal theory developed by the First Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court decisions, as also interpreted by the Federal District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Let’s begin the ride.