{"id":24425,"date":"2026-06-12T11:14:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T15:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/?page_id=24425"},"modified":"2026-07-02T11:57:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:57:32","slug":"abolition-democracy-and-abolition-constitutionalism-a-constitutional-framework-for-overruling-the-insular-cases","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/in-print\/volume-114\/volume-114-issue-4-april-2026\/abolition-democracy-and-abolition-constitutionalism-a-constitutional-framework-for-overruling-the-insular-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Abolition Democracy and Abolition Constitutionalism: A Constitutional Framework for Overruling the Insular Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>A new abolition constitutionalism could seek to abolish historical forms of <\/i><i>oppression beyond slavery, including settler colonialism, patriarchy, hetero<\/i><i>normativity, ableism, and capitalism, and strive to dismantle systems beyond <\/i><i>police and prisons, including foster care, regulation of pregnancy, <\/i><i>and pov<\/i><i>erty. It could extend beyond the United States\u2019 borders to challenge U.S. de<\/i><i>portation policies and U.S. imperialism and to connect to freedom struggles <\/i><i>around the world<\/i><span class=\"s1\">. . . <\/span><i>. Its objective could extend beyond abolishing particular <\/i><i>systems to establishing freedom for all<\/i><span class=\"s1\">\u2014<\/span><i>a new freedom constitutionalism.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_1' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_1'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>1<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_1' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #1<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_1' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_1' tabindex='-1'>1<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #1 content: <\/span>Dorothy E. Roberts, <i>Foreword: Abolition Constitutionalism<\/i>, 133 HARV. L. REV. 1, 120\u201321 (2019) (footnote omitted).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The United States territories consist of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; all of the territories exercise self-governance while also being subject to U.S. sovereignty and congressional plenary power.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_2' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_2'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>2<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_2' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #2<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_2' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_2' tabindex='-1'>2<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #2 content: <\/span><i>Developments in the Law: The U.S. Territories<\/i>, 130 HARV. L. REV. 1616, 1617 (2017).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span>Each territory is considered unincorporated and thus subject to different constitutional treatment than a state.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_3' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_3'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>3<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_3' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #3<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_3' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_3' tabindex='-1'>3<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #3 content: <\/span><i>See <\/i>Ross Dardani, Weaponized Citizenship: A Critical Race Theory Analysis of U.S. Citizenship Legislation in the Pacific Unincorporated Territories 2 (Dec. 15, 2017) (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Connecticut), https:\/\/opencommons.uconn.edu\/dissertations\/1671 [https:\/\/perma.cc\/WW9K-8CE6].\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span>Such unincorporated territories are defined as U.S. insular areas<span class=\"s2\">\u2014\u201c<\/span>[a] jurisdiction that is neither a part of one of the several States nor a Federal district<span class=\"s2\">\u201d\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_4' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_4'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>4<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_4' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #4<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_4' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_4' tabindex='-1'>4<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #4 content: <\/span><i>See Definitions of Insular Area Political Organizations<\/i>, U.S. DEP\u2019T OF THE INTERIOR: OFF. OF INSULAR AFFS., https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/oia\/islands\/politicatypes [https:\/\/perma.cc\/HA4P-6E5B] (last visited Mar. 11, 2026).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u2014<\/span>in which the U.S. Congress has determined that only selected parts of the U.S. Constitution apply.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_5' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_5'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>5<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_5' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #5<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_5' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_5' tabindex='-1'>5<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #5 content: <\/span><i>See <\/i>Dardani, <i>supra <\/i>note 3, at 2.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span>Only the most <span class=\"s2\">\u201c<\/span>fundamental<span class=\"s2\">\u201d <\/span>constitutional rights and protections are extended to residents of the territories, unlike the U.S. citizens residing in one of the fifty states who are automatically afforded the rights and protections of the Constitution.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_6' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_6'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>6<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_6' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #6<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_6' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_6' tabindex='-1'>6<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #6 content: <\/span><i>See, e.g.<\/i>, Dorr v. United States, 195 U.S. 138, 148 (1904) (finding that Congress is not required to extend the right to a jury trial to the territories).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span>As an Indigenous Chamoru\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_7' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_7'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>7<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_7' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #7<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_7' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_7' tabindex='-1'>7<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #7 content: <\/span>The Indigenous people of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands did not originally refer to themselves as \u201cChamorro,\u201d as this name was introduced during Spanish occupation. Raquel Bagnol, <i>CHamoru or Chamorro: The Spelling Confusion<\/i>, PAC. ISLAND TIMES (Mar. 4, 2024), https:\/\/www.pacificislandtimes.com\/post\/chamoru-or-chamorro-the-spelling-confusion [https:\/\/perma.cc\/9NYW-YZW3]. In 1993, following a series of public hearings, the Chamorro Language Commission \u201cannounced its decision to change the official spelling of \u2018Chamorro\u2019 to \u2018Chamoru\u2019 to conform to the Chamorro Standard Orthography\u201d (the official spelling system for written Chamorro). Gina E. Taitano, <i>Chamorro vs. Chamoru<\/i>, GUAMPEDIA, https:\/\/www.guampedia.com\/chamorro-vs-chamoru [https:\/\/perma.cc\/2G58-HBZ7] (last visited Mar. 11, 2026). Proponents of the spelling \u201cChamoru\u201d argue that the spelling \u201cChamorro\u201d reflects Spanish orthography, and the spelling \u201cChamoru\u201d represents \u201ca conscious decision to take ownership of an otherwise borrowed name.\u201d <i>Id. <\/i>However, the Twenty-second Guam Legislature mandated \u201cChamorro\u201d as the official spelling through a 1994 law. <i>Id. <\/i>While \u201cChamorro\u201d is the official spelling, I make the conscious decision to use \u201cChamoru\u201d to refer to the Indigenous people of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands as my way of honoring my ancestors and denouncing Spanish colonization.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span>living in the fifty states, I am afforded more rights and constitutional protections than my family members living in Guam. Chamorus are the <span class=\"s1\">\u201c<\/span>Indigenous people of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.<span class=\"s1\">\u201d\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_8' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_8'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>8<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_24425_8' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #8<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_24425_8' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_24425_8' tabindex='-1'>8<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #8 content: <\/span><i>Chamorro<\/i>, ENCYCLOP\u00c6DIA BRITTANICA, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Chamorro [https:\/\/perma.cc\/4S4T-26LT] (last visited Mar. 11, 2026).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Continue reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/06\/Sonico_Abolition-Democracy-and-Abolition-Constitutionalism-A-Constitutional-Framework-for-Overruling-the-Insular-Cases.pdf\"><strong><em>Abolition Democracy and Abolition Constitutionalism: A Constitutional Framework for Overruling the <\/em>Insular Cases<\/strong><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-pdfemb-pdf-embedder-viewer\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/06\/Sonico_Abolition-Democracy-and-Abolition-Constitutionalism-A-Constitutional-Framework-for-Overruling-the-Insular-Cases.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\" data-toolbar=\"bottom\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"off\">Sonico_Abolition-Democracy-and-Abolition-Constitutionalism-A-Constitutional-Framework-for-Overruling-the-Insular-Cases<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new abolition constitutionalism could seek to abolish historical forms of oppression beyond slavery, including settler colonialism, patriarchy, heteronormativity, ableism, and capitalism, and strive to dismantle systems beyond police and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13871,"featured_media":0,"parent":24413,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"abstract.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-24425","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13871"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24425"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24598,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24425\/revisions\/24598"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}