To amend the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands to provide for direct review by the United States Supreme Court of decisions of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court, and for other purposes.

Thank you, Congressman Scott, for yielding the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6116, legislation I sponsored to provide for direct appeals of decisions of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I want to begin by thanking the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary and their staff for working together in a bipartisan way to swiftly report H.R. 6116 and bring it to the House floor today. On behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, I want to say thank you to Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Conyers, as well as to my colleagues, Congressman Coble and Congressman Scott, who are managing the bill on the floor today.

It was just 5 months ago that I had the pleasure of joining the elected leaders of the Virgin Islands at a ceremony to celebrate the Virgin Islands Supreme Court reaching a historic milestone. Specifically, the occasion was to receive the report from the judicial council of the third circuit regarding their review of the Virgin Island Supreme Court during its first 5 years, as required by law, which authorized the Virgin Islands to create a local appellate court.

The third circuit report concluded that the U.S. Virgin Islands Supreme Court developed sufficient institutional traditions to justify direct review of its final decisions by the United States Supreme Court and urged Congress to enact legislation providing that the Supreme Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands enjoy the same relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court as the highest court of any State.

Today, the House will take the first step in making the Virgin Islands Supreme Court just like every other high court in the States and territories. This is just one more step on the journey for further local self-governance, which was begun in 1984 when my predecessor, former Delegate to Congress, Ron de Lugo, amended the Virgin Islands 1954 Organic Act to allow for the creation of an appellate court chartered under local law, while it took another 20 years for Virgin Islands Act No. 6687 to be signed into law by then-Governor Charles W. Turnbull, and 2 more years for a chief justice and two associate justices to be nominated and confirmed and for the Supreme Court to formally accept appellate jurisdiction.

Chief Justice Hodge and Associate Justices Cabret and Swan are to be

commended for the work they did to earn the recommendation of the third circuit's judicial council for appeals of their decisions to go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. In doing so, they are following our sister territory of Guam, which was the last Supreme Court to gain direct appeals of their decisions to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Over these past 5 years, the Virgin Islands Supreme Court has issued opinions on such wide-ranging cases as whether and when a judge could be disciplined, to affirming in a landmark ruling that women are not property. By my staff's unofficial count, among the court's many accomplishments is the issuance of over 180 published opinions since 2007.

Other noteworthy accomplishments include making several structural reforms in the areas of attorney admissions to the Virgin Islands Bar, discipline procedures, and mandating new requirements for continuing legal education courses for all active members of the Virgin Islands Bar Association.

I had the pleasure of joining Chief Justice Hodge and Associate Justices Cabret and Swan at their official swearing-in ceremony in 2006. At that time I focused my remarks on the historic nature of the occasion as well as the personal relationships I share with each of the individual justices. With all that they have accomplished over the short time that this court has been in existence, all Virgin Islanders will look back on this time with great pride and gratitude for the way in which they laid the foundation for appellate jurisprudence in the territory that is second to none.

While it took more than 20 years after the law's authorizing us to establish a local appellate court, and while we are the last U.S. territory to do so, it is more than fitting that we are on the verge of accomplishing the final goal of making the U.S. Virgin Islands Supreme Court just like all other State supreme courts, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 6116.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6116, as amended. I support this legislation for several reasons.

To begin with, this bill simply implements the recommendation of the third circuit judicial council to allow decisions of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court to be reviewed directly by the United States Supreme Court. The Virgin Islands Supreme Court is the equivalent of a U.S. State supreme court. It is authorized to review all final orders, judgments, and specified interlocutory orders of the Virgin Islands superior courts. Appeals from the Virgin Islands Supreme Court are made by petitions of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this time.

The Revised Organic Act specifically grants the third circuit appellate jurisdiction for the first 15 years of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court's existence. In addition, the act requires the third circuit judicial council to submit reports to two congressional committees every 5 years assessing whether the Virgin Islands Supreme Court ``has developed sufficient institutional traditions to justify direct review by the Supreme Court of the United States from all of its final decisions.''

In April of this year, the third circuit judicial council submitted the first of these 5-year reports. In it, the council concluded that the Virgin Islands Supreme Court had met the standard necessary to justify direct review of its decisions by the United States Supreme Court. Accordingly, the council recommended that Congress enact legislation to allow for such direct review.

H.R. 6116 effectuates the third circuit's recommendations by deleting from the Revised Organic Act both the provisions granting appellate jurisdiction to the third circuit and the reporting requirement.

I also support changes reflected in the version of the bill we are considering today because they reflect input both from the U.S. Supreme Court and an academic expert. Specifically, the amended version of the bill requires both the bill's long title and header to section 1 so that they refer to direct review rather than direct appeals. This change more accurately reflects the discretionary nature of the U.S. Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction over most cases whereby it selects cases for consideration through granting petitions for writs of certiorari.

Additionally, the amended version of H.R. 6116 adds a provision to chapter 81 of title 28 of the United States Code to further clarify the scope of the U.S. Supreme Court's discretionary appellate jurisdiction with respect to decisions of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court.

Finally, H.R. 6116 is consistent with precedence. For example, in 2004, Congress enacted similar legislation to provide for direct review by the U.S. Supreme Court of decisions of the Guam Supreme Court.

I congratulate the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands, Dr. Christensen, for her leadership in this measure. I also thank the Judiciary Committee chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), for his assistance in bringing this legislation to the floor.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Does the gentleman have additional speakers?

I would like to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands, Dr. Christensen.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).

(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume just to thank the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands, Dr. Christensen, and the leadership of the Judiciary Committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Michigan, the ranking member, Mr. Conyers, for bringing this bill to the floor.

And with that, Mr. Speaker, I ask Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6116) to amend the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands to provide for direct appeals to the United States Supreme Court of decisions of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6116, as amended, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 6116 authorizes direct review by the United States Supreme Court of decisions rendered by the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands. I thank Representative Christensen for her work on this bill.

Created in 2007, the Supreme Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands is the equivalent of a U.S. State supreme court. It is authorized to review all final orders, judgments, and specified interlocutory orders of the Virgin Islands Superior Court.

Appeals from the Virgin Islands Supreme Court are made by petitions of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Federal statute specifies that discretionary review by the third circuit exists for the first 15 years following inception of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court or until it ``has developed sufficient institutional traditions to justify direct review by the Supreme Court of the United States from all [of its] final decisions,'' whichever is sooner.

The third circuit's judicial council, Mr. Speaker, evaluates the progress of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court in 5-year intervals. Following extensive review, the council published its initial 5th-year report last April. The council recommends that the U.S. Supreme Court exercise direct review of all final decisions made by the Virgin Islands Supreme Court.

H.R. 6116 adopts the third circuit recommendation. The bill simply authorizes the U.S. Supreme Court to review, at its discretion, all final judgments rendered by the Virgin Islands Supreme Court.

The suspension version under consideration makes two technical changes to the bill as introduced. First, it clarifies that the U.S. Supreme Court may review final judgments of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court pursuant to cert petitions. In other words, the U.S. Supreme Court may exercise its own discretion to accept or reject cases.

Secondly, the suspension version expands the U.S. Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction through an additional reference to chapter 81 of title 28 of the U.S. Code. Chapter 81 sets forth the jurisdiction and venue of the U.S. Supreme Court. Judges, lawyers, and litigants look to it when they have questions about the Court's appellate jurisdiction. The creation of an additional reference to chapter 81 makes it easier to find the new law.

I again express my thanks to Mrs. Christensen for her work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6116.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to express my thanks to Dr. Christensen and to my friend from American Samoa for their assistance, and Mr. Scott as well.

I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman from Virginia, and especially also my dear friend and colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina, as managers of this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6116, a bill to provide for appeals from the Virgin Islands Supreme Court to go to the U.S. Supreme Court instead of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

H.R. 6116, sponsored by my good friend, the gentlelady from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dr. Christensen, simply puts into legislation a decision vetted by the judicial council of the third circuit, established through a process which has already been authorized by Congress.

Mr. Speaker, in 1984, Congress provided Guam and the Virgin Islands with the authority to establish local supreme courts, and the law provided for appeals from these courts to go to their respective circuit courts of appeals for the first 15 years unless after 5 years their respective court of appeals found the local supreme court was ready for appeals to go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On April 18 of this year, the third circuit's judicial council published a 23-page report on the Virgin Islands Supreme Court that was submitted to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and also to the House Committee on Natural Resources. In its review, the council concluded that the Virgin Islands Supreme Court has developed sufficient institutional traditions to justify direct review by the Supreme Court of the United States of all final decisions. The council affirmed that the Virgin Islands Supreme Court's quality of case law was commensurate with that of the supreme courts of several States, and among other remarkable reviews, stated further that the third circuit court has yet to reverse a decision of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court.

I congratulate the Virgin Islands Supreme Court Chief Justice Rhys Hodge and Associate Justices Maria Cabret and Ive Swan for this extraordinary feat, and I commend again the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands for introducing this timely legislation.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 6116 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.