Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz responded to Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite D. Oronoz Rodríguez after she urged Gov. Jenniffer González Colón to veto Senate Bill 1096, known as the Judicial Reform. Rivera Schatz began by expressing "respect and deference" for Oronoz Rodríguez and her office. He said that if she genuinely believes the bill affects the constitutional order, it is her duty, besides speaking out, to challenge it in court once the controversy is ripe.
He also questioned why she made a public call to the governor while the Supreme Court has before it a case of great interest to the Executive: the government’s lawsuit against LUMA Energy. In his words, her public petition "could affect the 'ethical design' of the judiciary." He asked whether the other associate justices and judges of the Court of Appeals and Court of First Instance could make "authorized statements" like the chief justice’s.
He added that judges defend themselves with "the dignity of silence," and said Puerto Rico’s constitutional design has no monarchs in any branch. In authorized statements issued October 22, Oronoz Rodríguez called final passage of the measure a decision of profound gravity for the constitutional order. She said the bill shifts essential judicial administration decisions to the full Supreme Court while leaving responsibility for the system’s functioning with the Chief Justice.
She said the Judiciary raised its concerns with the Legislature for months without being heard, and that changing the constitutional distribution of responsibilities would require a constitutional amendment put to voters.