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Constitutional Law Keyed to Rotunda
Posadas de Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico
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- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
- Topic: Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.
- Parties: Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.
- Procedural Posture & History: Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.
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- Brief Facts: A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.
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- Facts: What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case. Review the Facts of this case here:
The Puerto Rico legislature passed a law that authorized casino gambling but prohibited gambling facilities from advertising to residents of Puerto Rico. The law authorized Tourism Company of Puerto Rico (Defendant), a public corporation, to implement regulations governing casino advertisement. The regulation authorized media advertisement outside Puerto Rico subject to pre-approval by the Defendant. A policy memorandum issued by the Defendant interpreted the regulation as prohibiting casino advertisement on any promotional materials, such as brochures, matchbooks, and gift items that might be accessible to Puerto Rico residents. The Defendant imposed fines against Posadas de Puerto Rico (Plaintiff) pursuant to its policy interpretation. Plaintiff filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment that the law and the regulations implemented pursuant to the law violated its constitutional rights to commercial speech. The trial court implemented a narrow interpretation and held that the law and regulations were not unconstitutional if applied in accordance with the court’s construction. The trial court also held that the constitutional rights of Plaintiff had been violated by the Defendant’s prior application of the law and regulations. Plaintiff appealed the trial court’s finding of constitutionality. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico dismissed the appeal on grounds that it failed to present a substantial constitutional question. The Defendant petitioned the United States Supreme Court for review.
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- Policy: Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.
- Court Direction: Shares where the Court went from here for this case.