Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle

Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle is a criminal case under consideration by the Supreme Court of the United States. In the case, the court is considering whether Puerto Rico and the federal government of the United States are separate sovereigns for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In essence, this clause establishes that an individual cannot be tried for the same offense twice under the same sovereignty. The petitioner claims that Puerto Rico possesses a different sovereignty because of the island's current political status while others claim that it does not—including the respondent, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, and the Solicitor General of the United States.