48 U.S.C. § 1613a — Appellate jurisdiction of District Court;

Page 159 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 1614 1 See References in Text note below. Pub. L. 112–226, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1260 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Proce- dure. 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. § 1613a. Appellate jurisdiction of District Court; procedure; review by United States Court of Appeals for Third Circuit; rules; appeals to appellate court (a) Appellate jurisdiction of District Court Prior to the establishment of the appellate court authorized by section 1611(a) of this title, the District Court of the Virgin Islands shall have such appellate jurisdiction over the courts of the Virgin Islands established by local law to the extent now or hereafter prescribed by local law: Provided, That the legislature may not pre- clude the review of any judgment or order which involves the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, including this chapter, or any authority exercised thereunder by an officer or agency of the Government of the United States, or the conformity of any law enacted by the leg- islature of the Virgin Islands or of any order or regulation issued or action taken by the execu- tive branch of the government of the Virgin Is- lands with the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, including this chapter, or any authority exercised thereunder by an officer or agency of the United States. (b) Appellate division of District Court; quorum; presiding judge; designation of judges; deci- sions Appeals to the District Court of the Virgin Is- lands shall be heard and determined by an appel- late division of the court consisting of three judges, of whom two shall constitute a quorum. The chief judge of the district court shall be the presiding judge of the appellate division and shall preside therein unless disqualified or oth- erwise unable to act. The other judges who are to sit in the appellate division at any session shall be designated by the presiding judge from among the judges who are serving on, or are as- signed to, the district court from time to time pursuant to section 1614(a) of this title: Provided, That no more than one of them may be a judge of a court established by local law. The concur- rence of two judges shall be necessary to any de- cision by the appellate division of the district court on the merits of an appeal, but the pre- siding judge alone may make any appropriate orders with respect to an appeal prior to the hearing and determination thereof on the merits and may dismiss an appeal for want of jurisdic- tion or failure to take or prosecute it in accord- ance with the applicable law or rules of proce- dure. Appeals pending in the district court on the effective date of this Act 1 shall be heard and determined by a single judge. (c) United States Court of Appeals for Third Cir- cuit; jurisdiction; appeals; rules The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shall have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the district court on appeal from the courts established by local law. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shall have jurisdiction to promul- gate rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. (d) Appeals to appellate court; effect on District Court Upon the establishment of the appellate court provided for in section 1611(a) of this title all ap- peals from the decisions of the courts of the Vir- gin Islands established by local law not pre- viously taken must be taken to that appellate court. The establishment of the appellate court shall not result in the loss of jurisdiction of the district court over any appeal then pending in it. The rulings of the district court on such ap- peals may be reviewed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and in the Supreme Court notwithstanding the establish- ment of the appellate court. (July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 23A, as added Pub. L. 98–454, title VII, § 705, Oct. 5, 1984, 98 Stat. 1739.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), 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 Islands, 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. The effective date of this Act, referred to in subsec. (b), probably means the effective date of title VII of Pub. L. 98–454, which is 90 days after Oct. 5, 1984, and which enacted this section. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on ninetieth day following Oct. 5, 1984, see section 1005 of Pub. L. 98–454, set out as an Ef- fective Date of 1984 Amendment note under section 1424 of this title. § 1614. Judges of District Court (a) Appointment; tenure; removal; chief judge; compensation The President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint two judges for the District Court of the Virgin Islands, who shall hold office for terms of ten years and until their successors are chosen and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President for cause. The judge of the district court who is senior in con- tinuous service and who otherwise qualifies under section 136(a) of title 28 shall be the chief judge of the court. The salary of a judge of the district court shall be at the rate prescribed for judges of the United States district courts. Whenever it is made to appear that such an as- signment is necessary for the proper dispatch of the business of the district court, the chief judge of the Third Judicial Circuit of the United States may assign a judge of a court of record of the Virgin Islands established by local law, or a circuit or district judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, or a recalled senior judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, or the Chief Justice