Nelson Torres-Ríos, B.A., M.S., J.D.Email:  netorres@hostos.cuny.edu

Office Tel:  718-518-6787
 
Biography:  Prof. Torres-Ríos is an attorney admitted in New York and New Jersey since 2013, and was recently admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court allowing him to practice before the highest court. In 2015, he joined the Behavioral & Social Sciences Department as an Assistant Professor where he currently serves as Course Manager and oversees the Paralegal Program. He is author of “Limitations of the Jones Act: Racialized Citizenship & Territorial Status” (Rutgers Race & the Law Review, April 2018) where he scrutinized the insular cases following the Spanish-American War that legitimized colonial status and second class citizenship under the Territorial Incorporation Doctrine. He authored several articles for the National Institute of Latino Policy regarding the legality of Puerto Rico’s debt crisis within the context of Litchfield v. Ballou, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that invalidates debt incurred in violation of constitutional limits. He presented at various panels at Hunter College, Binghamton University, Florida, and Puerto Rico on the legal and political implications of the island’s territorial status and  the “natural born” clause defining citizenship. In 2019, he testified before the United Nations denouncing the insular cases and calling for self-determination to end Puerto Rico’s colonial status.  
 
Courses Typically Taught:
 
LAW 150        Introduction to Criminal Law
CJ 101             Introduction to Criminal Justice
LEG 101         Introduction to Legal Studies