Panel II Federal Power, Accountability, and Colonial Governance • February 4, 2026

WELCOME

Welcome to the Symposium on the Law of the U.S. Territories, presented by St. Mary’s University School of Law in collaboration with the authors of the forthcoming Carolina Academic Press volume, The Law of the United States Territories.

This one-day symposium brings together judges, scholars, advocates, and practitioners from across the territorial and constitutional law community to examine how U.S. territorial status continues to shape democracy, citizenship, and governance across America’s island jurisdictions.

SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW

The symposium examines how U.S. territorial law continues to shape questions of sovereignty, citizenship, and democracy across America’s island jurisdictions. Through conversations with leading scholars, judges, and practitioners, the program explores the constitutional foundations of territorial status, the lived consequences of unequal governance, and emerging pathways for reform.

Panel II — Federal Power, Accountability, and Colonial Governance

Panelists and Presentations:

• Originalism, Plenary Power, and the Allure of Doctrinal Hope
• Carlos Chevere, J.D., LL.M. — Adjunct Professor of Law, Licensed Puerto Rican Practitioner
• Access to Information in Times of Capitalist & Colonial Legality in Puerto Rico
• Carlos F. Ramos Hernández—In-House Counsel, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo; Adjunct Professor, Inter American University School of Law
• Wilmai Rivera Pérez— Professor of Law, Southern University Law Center