Symposium on the Law of the U.S. Territories. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Presented by St. Mary's Law.
Symposium on the Law of the U.S. Territories. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Presented by St. Mary's Law.

The Symposium on the Law of the U.S. Territories

The Symposium on the Law of the U.S. Territories: Legal Status, Democratic Rights and the Future of America’s Territories is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, on the campus of the St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. The one-day symposium is located in the University Center (UC), Mengler Conference Room.

This symposium is during the ABA Midyear Meeting in San Antonio on Feb. 3 through Feb. 9, 2026.

Registration now open

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Overview

The symposium will examine 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.

  • Symposium Agenda

    8:30 to 9 a.m.

    Registration and Breakfast

    9 to 9:10 a.m.

    Welcome Remarks
    Dean Roberts
    Professor Sígrid Vendrell-Polanco

    9:10 to 9:15 a.m.

    Invocation
    Sister Grace Walle
    St. Mary’s School of Law Chaplain

    9:15 to 10 a.m.

    Keynote Address
    The Hon. Robert Torres, J.D.
    Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Guam

    10 to 11 a.m.

    Panel I — Constitutional Interpretation, Federal Power and the Insular Cases
    Panelists and Presentations:

    • Puerto Rico, the Insular Cases, and the Court: Colonial Legacies, Contemporary Doctrine and Prospects for Redress
      • Annette M. Martínez Orabona — Director, Puerto Rico Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union
      • Emmanuel Hiram Arnaud — Associate Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
      • Sheila Vélez Martínez — Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
      • Aníbal Rosario Lebrón — Associate Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
    • Constitutional Interpretation, History, and the Exclusion of Territorial Law
      • Michael L. Smith, J.D. — Associate Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law
    • Who Serves Whom? Territorial Officers, Federal Sovereignty and the Appointments Clause
      • Zoe Niesel, J.D. — Professor of Law, University of South Carolina School of Law
      • Sígrid Vendrell-Polanco, J.D. — Assistant Professor of Law & Englehardt Research Fellow, St. Mary’s University School of Law

    11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

    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
      • Joel Cosme Morales, J.D., LL.M. — Adjunct Professor of Law, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico
    • Access to Information in Times of Capitalist & Colonial Legality in Puerto Rico
      • Steven P. Lausell Recurt— Clinical Professor, Inter American University School of Law; Co-Director, Access to Information Project
      • Carlos F. Ramos Hernández—In-House Counsel, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo; Adjunct Professor, Inter American University School of Law
      • Yanira Reyes Gil—Professor of Law, Inter American University School of Law
      • Wilmai Rivera Pérez— Professor of Law, Southern University Law Center

    12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

    Lunch

    1:15 to 2:45 p.m.

    Panel III — Territorial Courts, Federalism, and Sovereignty
    Panelists and Presentations:

    • Territorial Constitutions and Organic Acts
      • Anthony Ciolli, J.D. — Practicing Faculty, St. Mary’s School of Law
    • The Evolution and Design of the Virgin Islands Court System
      • The Hon. Ernest E. Morris Jr., J.D. — Superior Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix District
    • Territorial Judiciary Roundtable
      • The Hon. John Manglona, J.D. — Supreme Court of Northern Mariana Islands
      • The Hon. Ernest E. Morris Jr., J.D. — Superior Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix District
      • The Hon. Robert Torres, J.D. — Supreme Court of Guam

    3 to 4:45 p.m.

    Panel IV — The Social and Human Consequences of Territorial Status
    Panelists and Presentations:

    • Mental Health Challenges for Attorneys and Clients in the U.S. Territories
      • Sherry Levin Wallach, Esq. — Special Counsel, The Legal Aid Society of Westchester County
      • Jacqueline Taitano Terlaje, Esq. — Law Office of Jacqueline Taitano Terlaje in Guam
    • Territorial Citizens’ Stories and Experiences with Administrative Agencies
      • Charles R. Venator-Santiago, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Law and Director of El Instituto, University of Connecticut
    • Birthright Citizenship in the U.S. Territories
      • Neil Weare, J.D. — Co-Founder and Co-Director, Right to Democracy (virtual)

    4:45 to 5 p.m.

    Closing Reflections
    Sígrid Vendrell-Polanco
    Anthony Ciolli
    Dean Roberts

    5 to 6:30 p.m.

    Networking Reception

Participants

  • Keynote address by the Hon. Robert Torres, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam
  • Panel presentations by Sígrid Vendrell-Polanco, J.D., Assistant Professor of Law and Englehardt Research Fellow, St. Mary’s Law; Zoe Niesel, J.D., Professor of Law, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, University of South Carolina; Michael L. Smith, J.D., Associate Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law; and Anthony Ciolli, J.D., Practicing Faculty, St. Mary’s Law, and Senior Law Clerk and Special Assistant to the Chief Justice of the Virgin Islands
  • Input from Neil Weare, J.D., Co-founder and Co-director, Right to Democracy
  • Article presentations by the Hon. Ernest E. Morris Jr., Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix District; Carlos Chévere-Lugo, J.D. (LL.M. ’17, LL.M. ’18), Puerto Rican attorney and researcher; Sherry Wallach, J.D., Deputy Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, New York; Naylil Moreno (J.D. ’22), Managing Attorney, Castro Law PLLC; and more.

Sponsorship Opportunities

If you are interested in supporting the Symposium, please use the button below and select “One-time gift,” choose the gift amount, and then select “Other – please specify” in the designation box. Please write “Symposium on U.S. Territories.”

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