There’s an internet thing going around where people post about Supreme Court cases in an effort to educate Sarah Palin on some case other than Roe V. Wade. My choice is one of the most shameful Supreme Court decisions of the last 100 years. No, it’s not Bush v. Gore. It’s Balzac v. Porto Rico. In this case, the Taft Court deprived citizens of U.S. territories of the full protections of the constitution. Plaintiff Jesus Balzac filed the case because he had been denied a trial by jury in a criminal libel case. Under the sixth amendment, all citizens should have that right. So for the nearly four million U.S. citizens who live in Puerto Rico as well as any mainland citizens who visit there, there is no right to a trial by jury if the local statutes don’t demand it. By the language of the decision, the same is true in any U.S. territory or possession. It is unclear whether any constitutional protections apply, based on the language of the decision.

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