However, since Puerto Rico is under United States sovereignty, there is also a Federal District Court for the island.

[6] The justices (currently eight, with one vacancy) are appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico and confirmed by majority vote by the Senate.

Subsequently, during the 1970s the Court asked for its number to be reduced back to seven members, arguing that the backlog had been attended to.

The Court has the power of judicial review and its decision are considered binding precedent within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.

The term of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court begins on the first Monday of October and ends in the last week of June of the following year.

However, during the recess months of July through September, an alternating panel of three justices are allowed to hear cases and their decisions are considered binding precedent.

The Chief Justice is the presiding officer of the Supreme Court, and amongst its functions it directs the administration of the different courts, chairs the Constitutional Redistricting Board which revises Puerto Rico's senatorial and representative districts after every decennial census, and presides at the impeachment trial of the Governor of Puerto Rico.

[14] Appointments to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico have traditionally been a politicized and often controversial process.

During the four years of divided partisan control of government between 2005 and 2009, when the governorship was occupied by commonwealther Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and the Senate presidency was held by statehooder Kenneth McClintock, despite the 2005 retirement of Associate Justice Baltasar Corrada del Rio, the death of Associate Justice Jaime Fuster in 2007 and the 2008 retirement of Associate Justice Francisco Rebollo, no appointments were made.

Alejandro García Padilla, was the second woman to hold the post of Chief Justice, succeeding Federico Hernández Denton, who was appointed in 2004 by Governor Sila Calderón.

In such capacity, Chief Justice Hernández Denton swore in Governors Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and Luis Fortuño.

[16] This also marked the point in which four female justices constituted the largest number of women in history to serve on the court simultaneously.

Previously, the Chief Justice, even when on the minority side of a case, assigned the writing of the opinion of the Court.

"[citation needed] With the standard of review so limited, and especially after Puerto Rico attained Commonwealth status under the 1952 Constitution, the route for appeals was deemed anachronistic and was repealed in 1961 providing Puerto Rico with a judicial state-federal court structure equal to that of States.

Federal Judge Daniel R. Domínguez took jurisdiction of the case, in a ruling that would effectively have nullified the decision of the Supreme Court.