Northwestern Pritzker School of Law students Anavictoria Avila, Heather Bowen, Reuben Aguirre, and Omar Delgadillo competed as finalists in the Puerto Rican Bar Association's Moot Court Competition in Orlando, Florida on issues related to Puerto Rico's Debt Enforcement & Recovery Act. The teams participated in a forum on the current economic crisis in Puerto Rico and witnessed discussions between representatives and experts on Puerto Rico's status and difficulties under the U.S. Constitution. The competition addressed constitutional questions around Puerto Rico's ability to restructure its debt amidst its prolonged recession and high unemployment.

1. NORTHWESTERN PRITZKER SCHOOL OF LAW
MOOT COURT COMPETITION FINALIST TEAMS IN ORLANDO, FL.
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law 2Ls Anavictoria Avila, Heather Bowen, Reuben
Aguirre, and Omar Delgadillo competed as finalists on Saturday, October 31st
, 2015 at the
Puerto Rican Bar Association’s (PRBA) Moot Court Competition in Orlando, Florida. Ivan
Navedo, also a 2L, assisted in drafting the brief that Anavictoria and Heather submitted and
coached both teams.
Photo (from left to right): Omar Delgadillo, Anavictoria Avila, Heather Bowen, and Reuben Aguirre
The two teams participated in the 4th
Annual Gala and witnessed the 1st
U.S. – Puerto Rico
Relations forum ever to be held in the history of the PRBA to further understand the current
economic crisis in Puerto Rico. The forum united several PRBA state presidents,
representatives, and senators from Puerto Rico, Florida, New York, and Illinois, including
Howard Hills who is the legal advisor to the United States National Security Council and
recognized expert on the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The moot court problem involved constitutional questions of Puerto Rico’s Recovery Act.
In 2014, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico enacted the Debt Enforcement & Recovery Act,
which allows Puerto Rican public corporations to restructure their debt. The Puerto Rican
legislature declared a state of fiscal emergency in June 2014. With over 73 billion dollars
worth of outstanding debt, Puerto Rico is more indebted than any of America’s 50 states.
The debt only exacerbates Puerto Rico’s prolonged economic recession and population
decline, which has substantially reduced the tax base in the past decade. Puerto Rico’s
unemployment and poverty rate is higher than any of the 50 states. United States

2. bondholders filed suit against the Recovery Act in Franklin California Tax-Free Trust v.
Puerto Rico, claiming bankruptcy preemption and constitutional violations under the
Contracts and Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution. 2015 WL 4079422 (1st Cir. 2015).
The court subsequently placed an injunction on the Recovery Act.
The main issue is that Puerto Rico is categorically excluded from filing for debt
restructuring under Chapter 9 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code. The public corporations are
at imminent risk of default. If that happens, vital services such as electricity, clean running
water, sanitation services, and highway operation will be shut down. This moot court
competition also raised awareness about many other difficulties affecting Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has been under the U.S. flag since 1898, and Puerto Ricans have been granted
birthright U.S. citizenship since 1917; however, the Commonwealth is still an
unincorporated territory. What does this mean?
 The issue of whether Puerto Rico will ultimately become a state or a nation has not
been determined.
 The federal government governs Puerto Rico (even though it has allowed self-
governance on local matters).
 Puerto Rico has a representative in Congress but the representative cannot vote on
legislative matters. Essentially, other congressional representatives have more power
over the Puerto Rican people than the Puerto Rican people do themselves. The
people of Puerto Rico cannot vote in Presidential elections unless they move to the
U.S. and become naturalized in one of the 50 states.
 Puerto Rico has been treated as a state under some laws and as a territory under
others.
 In 2012, 54% of Puerto Ricans said they did not want to be a territory, and 61.2%
chose statehood.
To learn more about Puerto Rico’s status and current economic crisis visit:
 Everything You Should Know About Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPzI0JsLwiI
 Senator Elizabeth Warren: Treasury Should Step Up To Help Families In Puerto
Rico
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gHYsZ87h7s
 Elizabeth Warren Rips the Obama Administration on Puerto Rico
o http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/finally-some-movement-
puerto-rico-debt-relief
 The Insular Cases: Constitutional Experts Assess the Status of Territories Acquired
in the Spanish-American War (video)
o http://today.law.harvard.edu/insular-cases-constitutional-experts-assess-
status-territories-acquired-spanish-american-war-video/