No Looking Good For The Puerto Rico SSI Case At The Supreme Court

    U.S. v. Vaello-Madero,  the case pending at the Supreme Court that concerns whether it is constitutional to deny SSI benefits to U.S. citizens who reside in the territory of Puerto Rico, has been listed for review at the Court's conference this Friday. This is the third time the case has been relisted for review.

     I have little knowledge of Supreme Court practice so I'll quote someone who does: 

If a case has been relisted once, it generally means that the Court is paying close attention to the case, and the chances of a grant [that is, agreeing to schedule oral arguments in the case] are higher than for an average case. But once a case has been relisted more than twice, it is generally no longer a likely candidate for plenary review, and is more likely to result in a summary reversal or a dissent from the denial of cert.

     The decision in the Court of Appeals was that it is unconstitutional to deny SSI benefits to U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico so a summary reversal would mean no SSI for Puerto Rico residents. It seems unlikely that the Count would refuse to hear the case (deny the petition for a writ of certiorari) since it presents a constitutional issue and there is a good deal at stake.