Puerto RICO v. Sanchez Valle

Decided June 9, 2016. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 15-108 · 579 U.S. 59 (2016) · Cited 125 times

Holding

The Double Jeopardy Clause bars Puerto Rico and the United States from successively prosecuting a single person for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Heath v. Alabama · 474 U.S. 82 (1985)
• United States v. Wheeler · 435 U.S. 313 (1978)
• Waller v. Florida · 397 U.S. 387 (1970)
• Puerto Rico v. Shell Co. (PR), Ltd. · 302 U.S. 253 (1937)
• Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez · 436 U.S. 49 (1978)
• Examining Bd. of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors v. Flores De Otero · 426 U.S. 572 (1976)
• Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co. · 416 U.S. 663 (1974)
• Bartkus v. Illinois · 359 U.S. 121 (1959)
• Abbate v. United States · 359 U.S. 187 (1959)
• Green v. United States · 355 U.S. 184 (1957)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• United States v. Lanza · 260 U.S. 377 (1922)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)
• Dames & Moore v. Regan · 453 U.S. 654 (1981)
• McPherson v. Blacker · 146 U.S. 1 (1892)
• Rodriguez v. Popular Democratic Party · 457 U.S. 1 (1982)
• Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder · 557 U.S. 193 (2009)
• United States v. Lara · 541 U.S. 193 (2004)
• Ex Parte Grossman · 267 U.S. 87 (1925)
• The Pocket Veto Case · 279 U.S. 655 (1929)
• Simms v. Simms · 175 U.S. 162 (1899)
• In Re Duncan · 139 U.S. 449 (1891)
• Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community · 572 U.S. 782 (2014)
• Talton v. Mayes · 163 U.S. 376 (1896)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC · 590 U.S. 448 (2020)
• Denezpi v. United States · 596 U.S. 591 (2022)
• Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Elena Kagan’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2016). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).