Sidebar: The twin problem

What does it mean to be American but not fully included? A constitutional doctrine keeps half a million Americans in U.S. territories from accessing Supplemental Security Income.Guam is a U.S. territory, but its residents don’t have the same access to federal benefits and political representation as Americans living in the 50 states.For twin sisters Katrina and Leslie Schaller, who lived with myotonic dystrophy, that distinction changed everything. When Katrina moved to Guam to live with her older sister, Kim, she lost her Supplemental Security Income benefits because the U.S. Congress excluded the territory from the program. Katrina sued the federal government — a fight that dredged up the enduring legacy of the Insular Cases, a series of early 20th-century Supreme Court decisions that codified second-class status for U.S. territories.In our penultimate episode this season, Sidebar examines the human cost of political disenfranchisement, the fight for equal protection and Guam’s ongoing struggle for self-determination.Why does Guam remain excluded from federal programs available to other Americans? How do the Insular Cases continue to shape the unequal treatment of U.S. citizens today? And can environmental law give a voice to people who lack voting representation in Congress?Special guests:Rodney Jacob, attorney who represented the Schaller sistersJames Campbell, the Richard M. Milanovich Fellow at UCLA School of LawRobert Underwood, former president of the University of GuamLeevin Camacho, attorney at Camacho TaitanoAutumn Bordner, attorney at Blue Ocean LawSidebar tackles the top stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro, Kelsey Reichmann and Josh Russell as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down developments to help you understand how they affect your day-to-day life.This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens. A transcript will be available later this week.Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.More from the U.S. territories:Supreme Court review goes beyond military waste disposal for Guam residentsPuerto Rico officials can be sued for stealing Roberto Clemente’s legacyDOJ sues Virgin Islands over restrictive firearm lawsSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads