48 U.S.C. § 1612 — Jurisdiction of District Court

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- Page 158 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 1613 tablished by local law for the purposes of deter- mining the availability of indictment by grand jury or trial by jury. (c) Criminal offenses; concurrent jurisdiction with local courts The District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the courts of the Virgin Islands established by local law over those offenses against the criminal laws of the Virgin Islands, whether felonies or mis- demeanors or both, which are of the same or similar character or part of, or based on, the same act or transaction or two or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting part of a common scheme or plan, if such act or transaction or acts or transactions also con- stitutes or constitute an offense or offenses against one or more of the statutes over which the District Court of the Virgin Islands has ju- risdiction pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section. (July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 22, 68 Stat. 506; Pub. L. 95–598, title III, § 336(a), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2680; Pub. L. 98–454, title VII, § 703(a), title X, § 1001, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1738, 1745; Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act July 22, 1954, ch. 558, 68 Stat. 497, known as the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Is- lands, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1541 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1986—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1986’’ for ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1954’’, which for purposes of codification was translated as ‘‘title 26’’ thus requiring no change in text. 1984—Pub. L. 98–454 amended section generally, desig- nating existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted provisions that District Court would have all jurisdic- tion of a district court of the United States, including diversity jurisdiction and bankruptcy jurisdiction as well as civil and criminal matters regarding the income tax laws applicable to the Virgin Islands for former provisions conferring general jurisdiction on the court and providing for the transfer of cases, repealed section 336 of Pub. L. 95–598, which had amended this section, and added subsecs. (b) and (c). 1978—Pub. L. 95–598 inserted ‘‘and a bankruptcy court’’ after ‘‘jurisdiction of a district court’’. 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. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 95–598, title IV, § 402(e), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2682, which provided a prospective effective date for the amendment of this section by section 336(a) of Pub. L. 95–598, was repealed by Pub. L. 98–454, title X, § 1001, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1745. JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURT OVER PENDING CASES Pub. L. 98–454, title VII, § 703(b), Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1738, provided that: ‘‘The provisions of this section [amending this section] shall not result in the loss of jurisdiction of the District Court of the Virgin Islands over any complaint or proceeding pending in it on the day preceding the effective date of this amendatory Act [see Effective Date of 1984 Amendment note set out under section 1424 of this title] and such complaint and proceeding may be pursued to final determination in the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court, notwithstanding the provisions of this amendatory Act [Pub. L. 98–454].’’ § 1613. Relations between courts of United States and courts of Virgin Islands; review by United States Court of Appeals for Third Cir- cuit; reports to Congress; rules The relations between the courts established by the Constitution or laws of the United States and the courts established by local law with re- spect to appeals, certiorari, removal of causes, the issuance of writs of habeas corpus, and other matters or proceedings shall be governed by the laws of the United States pertaining to the rela- tions between the courts of the United States, including the Supreme Court of the United States, and the courts of the several States in such matters and proceedings. (July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 23, 68 Stat. 506; Pub. L. 98–454, title VII, § 704, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1739; Pub. L. 103–437, § 17(a)(4), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4595; Pub. L. 112–226, § 1, Dec. 28, 2012, 126 Stat. 1606.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2012—Pub. L. 112–226 substituted a period for ‘‘: Provided, That for the first fifteen years following the establishment of the appellate court authorized by section 1611(a) of this title, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shall have jurisdiction to review by writ of certiorari all final decisions of the highest court of the Virgin Islands from which a deci- sion could be had. The Judicial Council of the Third Circuit shall submit reports to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com- mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Represent- atives at intervals of five years following the establish- ment of such appellate court as to whether it has devel- oped sufficient institutional traditions to justify direct review by the Supreme Court of the United States from all such final decisions. The United States Court of Ap- peals for the Third Circuit shall have jurisdiction to promulgate rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.’’ at end. 1994—Pub. L. 103–437 substituted ‘‘Natural Resources’’ for ‘‘Interior and Insular Affairs’’ before ‘‘of the House’’. 1984—Pub. L. 98–454 amended section generally, sub- stituting provisions relating to the relations between local law courts and already established courts under the Constitution or laws of the United States with re- spect to appeals, certiorari, etc. and providing that the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shall have juris- diction to review all final decisions from the highest court of the Virgin Islands for fifteen years after the appellate court is established for former provisions re- lating to the jurisdiction of inferior courts, transfer of actions, status as committing court, bail and rules. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2012 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 112–226 applicable to cases commenced on or after Dec. 28, 2012, see section 3 of