{"argument_date":"2016-03-22T00:00:00Z","arguments":[{"argument_date":"2016-03-22T00:00:00Z","heading":"What happened at the argument","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2015","official_transcript_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","paragraphs":["Mr. Landau argued Congress stripped Puerto Rico of restructuring tools.","Mr. McGill stated Congress withdrew Chapter 9 power in 1984.","justice_breyer_questioned_statutory_text","justice_ginsburg_questioned_contract_clause"],"reargument":false,"sequence":1,"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 22-32","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 22-32"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 36-44","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 36-44"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 32-34","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 13, lines 32-34"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 38-48","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 13, lines 38-48"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 10-32","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 10-32"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 40-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 40-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 50-1","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 50-1"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 26-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 26-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 22-18","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 22-18"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 8-20","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 8-20"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 20-38","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 20-38"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 26-30","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 26-30"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 10-14","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 10-14"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 40-48","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 40-48"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 48-20","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 48-20"}]}],"caption":"Puerto Rico v. Franklin Cal. Tax-Free Trust","case_history":[{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:22.357025Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"}],"case_status":"argued","dek":"Puerto Rico seeks to restructure utility debts. Lenders argue federal law blocks this.","dek_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 26-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 26-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 22-18","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 22-18"}],"dispositions":[],"latest_court_document_date":"2016-03-22T00:00:00Z","maturity":"official_transcript","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2015","official_disposition_urls":[],"official_docket_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/15-233.html","primary_docket":"15-233","revisions":[{"correction_note":"Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.","created_at":"2026-08-30T19:02:52.988034Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":1},{"correction_note":"Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.","created_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":2}],"schema_version":"1.1","sections":[{"heading":"What this case is about","paragraphs":["Puerto Rico wants to restructure utility debts. Lenders want to keep full payment."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 26-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 26-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 22-18","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 22-18"}]},{"heading":"How the case got here","paragraphs":["The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on March 22, 2016."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 8-20","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 8-20"}]},{"heading":"What each side wants","paragraphs":["Puerto Rico wants to restructure utility debts.","Lenders want to enforce full contract payment."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 26-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 26-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 22-18","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 22-18"}]},{"heading":"What each side says","paragraphs":["Puerto Rico argues federal law allows restructuring.","Lenders argue the Contract Clause blocks changes."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 26-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 26-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 22-18","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 22-18"}]},{"heading":"What the justices asked","paragraphs":["Justice Breyer asked where the statute includes Puerto Rico.","Justice Ginsburg asked about the Contract Clause bar."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 22-32","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 22-32"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 36-44","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 36-44"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 32-34","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 13, lines 32-34"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 38-48","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 13, lines 38-48"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 10-32","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 10-32"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 40-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 40-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 50-1","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 50-1"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 20-38","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 20-38"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 26-30","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 26-30"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 10-14","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 10-14"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 40-48","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 40-48"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 48-20","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 48-20"}]},{"heading":"Why it matters","paragraphs":["This case defines Puerto Rico's debt restructuring power. It affects essential utility services for residents."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 26-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 26-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 22-18","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 22-18"}]},{"heading":"What happens next","paragraphs":["This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 22-32","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 22-32"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 36-44","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 36-44"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 32-34","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 13, lines 32-34"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 38-48","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 13, lines 38-48"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 10-32","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 10-32"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 40-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 40-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 50-1","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 50-1"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 8-20","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 8-20"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 20-38","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 20-38"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 26-30","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 26-30"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 10-14","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 10-14"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 40-48","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 40-48"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 48-20","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 48-20"}]}],"slug":"2015-15-233-puerto-rico-v-franklin-cal-tax-free-trust","term":"2015","title":"Can Puerto Rico Restructure Public Utility Debts?","title_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 26-46","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 26-46"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 22-18","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2015/15-233_g314.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 22-18"}],"topics":[],"undated_disposition_date_fallback":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z"}