Press Releases

Virgin Islands Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett is playing a major role in a new challenge to the Insular Cases being argued by Neil Weare of "We the People Project" and Supreme Court legendary lawyer Ted Olsen.

Congresswoman Plaskett, who was one of the highest-ranking African-American women during her time at the Dept of Justice, served with Ted Olson and facilitated the relationship between Olsen and Weare.

“My office has worked closely with “We the People Project” for some time in challenging the insular cases. Given the success Ted Olsen has had arguing cases with important civil rights implications before the Supreme Court, I thought he was the best chance we had in not only raising a national awareness to this issue, but also in successfully reversing a century-old doctrine used to justify the benign neglect of the U.S. territories by the federal government. The Insular Cases today continues to hinder the full enjoyment of America’s democratic and constitutional principles by the residents of the U.S. territories. I am thankful Ted accepted my request to join my office and the team at ‘We the People Project’ in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court.” Plaskett said.

The Insular Cases are Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired in the Spanish-American War. For over a century, the "deepest ramification" of the Insular Cases is that inhabitants of unincorporated territories may have limited to no constitutional rights. According to the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteen Amendment, “anyone born on sovereign U.S. soil who owes allegiance to the United States has a constitutional right to U.S. citizenship that cannot be stripped by the political process, whether that person is born in a state, territory, or District of Columbia.

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