48 U.S.C. § 1611 — District Court of Virgin Islands; local

Page 157 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 1612 Virgin Islands, and shall be in addition to the authority conferred upon the Inspector General by chapter 4 of title 5. (c) Transfer of personnel, assets, etc., of office of government comptroller for Virgin Islands to Office of Inspector General, Department of the Interior In order to carry out the provisions of this sec- tion, the personnel, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other funds employed, held, used, arising from, available or to be made available, of the office of the government comptroller for the Virgin Is- lands related to its audit function are hereby transferred to the Office of Inspector General, Department of the Interior. (July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 17, as added Pub. L. 97–357, title III, § 309(b), Oct. 19, 1982, 96 Stat. 1710; amended Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(b)(92), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4352.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 1599, acts July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 17, 68 Stat. 505; Aug. 28, 1958, Pub. L. 85–851, §§ 4, 5, 72 Stat. 1094, 1095; Mar. 20, 1962, Pub. L. 87–421, 76 Stat. 43; Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90–496, § 9, 82 Stat. 840; Oct. 15, 1977, Pub. L. 95–134, title III, § 301(a), 91 Stat. 1162, related to appointment, status, and duties of the government comptroller for the Virgin Islands, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 97–357, § 309(b). AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–286 substituted ‘‘chapter 4 of title 5.’’ for ‘‘the Inspector General Act of 1978 (92 Stat. 1101), as amended.’’ SUBCHAPTER V—JUDICIAL BRANCH § 1611. District Court of Virgin Islands; local courts; jurisdiction; practice and procedure (a) District Court of Virgin Islands; local courts The judicial power of the Virgin Islands shall be vested in a court of record designated the ‘‘District Court of the Virgin Islands’’ estab- lished by Congress, and in such appellate court and lower local courts as may have been or may hereafter be established by local law. (b) Jurisdiction The legislature of the Virgin Islands may vest in the courts of the Virgin Islands established by local law jurisdiction over all causes in the Vir- gin Islands over which any court established by the Constitution and laws of the United States does not have exclusive jurisdiction. Such juris- diction shall be subject to the concurrent juris- diction conferred on the District Court of the Virgin Islands by section 1612(a) and (c) of this title. (c) Practice and procedure The rules governing the practice and proce- dure of the courts established by local law and those prescribing the qualifications and duties of the judges and officers thereof, oaths and bonds, and the times and places of holding court shall be governed by local law or the rules pro- mulgated by those courts. (July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 21, 68 Stat. 506; Pub. L. 98–454, title VII, § 702, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1737.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1984—Pub. L. 98–454 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted ‘‘established by Congress’’ before ‘‘and in such’’ and substituted ‘‘appellate court and lower local courts as may have been or may hereafter be established by local law’’ for ‘‘court or courts of in- ferior jurisdiction as have been or may hereafter be es- tablished by local law’’, and added subsecs. (b) and (c). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–454 effective on ninetieth day following Oct. 5, 1984, see section 1005 of Pub. L. 98–454, set out as a note under section 1424 of this title. § 1612. Jurisdiction of District Court (a) Jurisdiction The District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have the jurisdiction of a District Court of the United States, including, but not limited to, the diversity jurisdiction provided for in section 1332 of title 28 and that of a bankruptcy court of the United States. The District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all criminal and civil proceedings in the Virgin Is- lands with respect to the income tax laws appli- cable to the Virgin Islands, regardless of the de- gree of the offense or of the amount involved, except the ancillary laws relating to the income tax enacted by the legislature of the Virgin Is- lands. Any act or failure to act with respect to the income tax laws applicable to the Virgin Is- lands which would constitute a criminal offense described in chapter 75 of subtitle F of title 26 shall constitute an offense against the govern- ment of the Virgin Islands and may be pros- ecuted in the name of the government of the Virgin Islands by the appropriate officers there- of in the District Court of the Virgin Islands without the request or the consent of the United States attorney for the Virgin Islands, notwith- standing the provisions of section 1617 of this title. (b) General jurisdiction; limitations In addition to the jurisdiction described in subsection (a) the District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have general original jurisdiction in all causes in the Virgin Islands the jurisdic- tion over which is not then vested by local law in the local courts of the Virgin Islands: Pro- vided, That the jurisdiction of the District Court of the Virgin Islands under this subsection shall not extend to civil actions wherein the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum or value of $500, exclusive of interest and costs; to crimi- nal cases wherein the maximum punishment which may be imposed does not exceed a fine of $100 or imprisonment for six months, or both; and to violations of local police and executive regulations. The courts established by local law shall have jurisdiction over the civil actions, criminal cases, and violations set forth in the preceding proviso. In causes brought in the dis- trict court solely on the basis of this subsection, the district court shall be considered a court es-