United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

United States district court in Puerto Rico

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Appeals toFirst CircuitEstablishedSeptember 12, 1966Judges7Chief JudgeRaúl M. Arias-MarxuachOfficers of the courtU.S. AttorneyW. Stephen MuldrowU.S. MarshalWilmer Ocasiowww.prd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citations, D.P.R.; Spanish: Tribunal del Distrito de Puerto Rico) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is based in San Juan. The main building is the Clemente Ruiz Nazario United States Courthouse located in the Hato Rey district of San Juan. The magistrate judges are located in the adjacent Federico Degetau Federal Building, and several senior district judges hold court at the Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Old San Juan. The old courthouse also houses the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Most appeals from this court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which is headquartered in Boston but hears appeals at the Old San Juan courthouse for two sessions each year. Patent claims as well as claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act are appealed to the Federal Circuit.

The current United States attorney is W. Stephen Muldrow.

Scope and relevance

The United States first established a federal court in Puerto Rico under the Foraker Act of 1900. This court was a territorial court, operating within what the Supreme Court would soon define in the Insular Cases as an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such, the court was established under Article IV rather than Article III of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court of the United States discussed the nature of the court in Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1922). Because the court was a territorial court rather than a full-fledged District Court, its judges did not enjoy Article III protections such as life tenure.

The District Court in Puerto Rico continued to be an Article IV court even after Puerto Rico attained its commonwealth status. However, in 1966, the U.S. Congress conferred life tenure on the federal judges of Puerto Rico, transforming the court into a full-fledged Article III district court with the same status as the other United States District Courts throughout the country.^[1] The congressional report on the bill making this change described the change of status as being "appropriate in light of the court's caseload and the conferral of Commonwealth status on Puerto Rico," and also explained:

There is no reason why the U.S. District Judges for the District of Puerto Rico should not be placed in a position of parity as to tenure with all other Federal Judges throughout our judicial system. Moreover, federal litigants in Puerto Rico should not be denied the benefit of judges made independent by life tenure from the pressures of those who might influence his chances of reappointment, which benefits the Constitution guarantees to the litigants in all other Federal Courts. These judges in Puerto Rico have and will have the exacting same heavy responsibilities as all other Federal district judges and, therefore, they should have the same independence, security, and retirement benefits to which all other Federal district judges are entitled.

See 1966 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2786–90; see also Examining Bd. of Engineers Architects and Surveyors v. Flores de Otero, 426 U.S. 572, 595 n.26 (1976) ("The reason given for this [law] was that the Federal District Court in Puerto Rico 'is in its jurisdiction, powers, and responsibilities the same as the U.S. district courts in the (several) states'."). This important change in the federal judicial structure of the island was implemented not as a request of the Commonwealth government, but rather at the repeated request of the Judicial Conference of the United States. See Senate Report No. 1504, 1966 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2786–90.

No similar law has been passed for the three insular territories that still have Article IV status, though there have been calls from time to time that these judges also deserve the protection of life tenure.^{[citation needed]}

Current judges

As of January 2, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Active	Chief	Senior	Appointed by
20	Chief Judge	Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach	San Juan	1967	2019–present	2021–present	—	Trump
16	District Judge	Aida Delgado-Colón	San Juan	1955	2006–present	2011–2018	—	G.W. Bush
19	District Judge	Pedro Delgado Hernández	San Juan	1956	2014–present	—	—	Obama
21	District Judge	Silvia Carreño-Coll	San Juan	1963	2020–present	—	—	Trump
22	District Judge	María del R. Antongiorgi-Jordán	San Juan	1967	2022–present	—	—	Biden
23	District Judge	Camille L. Vélez-Rivé	San Juan	1968	2022–present	—	—	Biden
24	District Judge	Gina R. Méndez-Miró	San Juan	1974	2023–present	—	—	Biden
15	Senior Judge	Jay A. García-Gregory	San Juan	1944	2000–2018	—	2018–present	Clinton
18	Senior Judge	Francisco Besosa	San Juan	1949	2006–2022	—	2022–present	G.W. Bush

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Hiram Rafael Cancio	PR	1920–2008	1967–1974	1967–1974	—	L. Johnson	resignation
2	Juan B. Fernandez-Badillo	PR	1912–1989	1967–1972	—	1972–1989	L. Johnson	death
3	José Victor Toledo	PR	1931–1980	1970–1980	1974–1980	—	Nixon	death
4	Hernan Gregorio Pesquera	PR	1924–1982	1972–1982	1980–1982	—	Nixon	death
5	Juan R. Torruella	PR	1933–2020	1974–1984	1982–1984	—	Ford	elevation to 1st Cir.
6	Juan Pérez-Giménez	PR	1941–2020	1979–2006	1984–1991	2006–2020	Carter	death
7	Gilberto Gierbolini-Ortiz	PR	1926–2009	1980–1993	1991–1993	1993–2004	Carter	retirement
8	Carmen Consuelo Cerezo	PR	1940–present	1980–2021	1993–1999	—	Carter	retirement
9	Jaime Pieras Jr.	PR	1924–2011	1982–1993	—	1993–2011	Reagan	death
10	Raymond L. Acosta	PR	1925–2014	1982–1994	—	1994–2014	Reagan	death
11	Hector Manuel Laffitte	PR	1934–present	1983–2005	1999–2004	2005–2007	Reagan	retirement
12	José A. Fusté	PR	1943–present	1985–2016	2004–2011	—	Reagan	retirement
13	Salvador E. Casellas	PR	1935–2017	1994–2005	—	2005–2017	Clinton	death
14	Daniel R. Domínguez	PR	1945–present	1994–2011	—	2011–2024	Clinton	retirement
17	Gustavo Gelpí	PR	1965–present	2006–2021	2018–2021	—	G.W. Bush	elevation to 1st Cir.

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Cancio	1967–1974
Toledo	1974–1980
Pesquera	1980–1982
Torruella	1982–1984
Pérez-Giménez	1984–1991
Gierbolini-Ortiz	1991–1993
Cerezo	1993–1999
Laffitte	1999–2004
Fusté	2004–2011
Delgado-Colón	2011–2018
Gelpí	2018–2021
Arias-Marxuach	2021–present

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1
Seat established on September 12, 1966 by 80 Stat. 764
Cancio	1967–1974
Torruella	1974–1984
Fuste	1985–2016
Arias-Marxuach	2019–present

Seat 2
Seat established on September 12, 1966 by 80 Stat. 764
Fernandez-Badillo	1967–1972
Pesquera	1972–1982
Laffitte	1983–2005
Gelpí	2006–2021
Antongiorgi-Jordán	2022–present

Seat 3
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Toledo	1970–1980
Acosta	1982–1994
García-Gregory	2000–2018
Carreño-Coll	2020–present

Seat 4
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Perez-Gimenez	1979–2006
Besosa	2006–2022
Vélez-Rivé	2022–present

Seat 5
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Gierbolini-Ortiz	1980–1993
Domínguez	1994–2011
Delgado Hernández	2014–present

Seat 6
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Cerezo	1980–2021
Méndez-Miró	2023–present

Seat 7
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Pieras, Jr.	1982–1993
Casellas	1994–2005
Delgado-Colón	2006–present

Article IV judges

Judges who served on the Court from 1900 to 1966, before it became an Article III court, were:

William H. Holt (1900–1904)
Charles F. McKenna (1904–1906)
Bernard Shandon Rodey (1906–1910)
John J. Jenkins (1910–1911)
Paul Charlton (1911–1913)
Peter J. Hamilton (1913–1921)
Arthur F. Odlin (1921–1925)
Ira K. Wells (1925–1933)
Robert A. Cooper (1933–1947)
David Chávez (1947–1950)
Thomas H. Roberts (1950–1952)
Clemente Ruiz-Nazario (1952–1966)
Hiram Rafael Cáncio (1965–1966)

During this period, judges for the District of Puerto Rico were appointed by the president for 4-year terms until 1938, and thereafter for 8-year terms. The court statutorily comprised a single judge until 1961, when a second judgeship was authorized by Congress, although the position was not actually filled until 1965. Until the 1950s, when the District Court judgeship was vacant, when the judge was away from Puerto Rico, or when the court's docket became overly backlogged, sitting judges of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico were designated to act as judges of the federal court.

Judge Ruiz-Nazario, appointed by President Harry Truman in 1952, was the first Puerto Rican to serve as a judge of Puerto Rico's federal court.

References

^ Public Law 89-571, 80 Stat. 764.

CONSEJO DE SALUD PLAYA DE PONCE v JOHNNY RULLAN, SECRETARY OF HEALTH OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO (PDF), The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2011, retrieved December 31, 2009
CONSEJO DE SALUD PLAYA DE PONCE v. RULLAN. 586 F.Supp.2d 22 (2008). CONSEJO DE SALUD PLAYA DE PONCE, et al., Plaintiffs v. Johnny RULLAN, Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Defendant. Civil Nos. 06–1260(GAG), 06-1524(GAG). United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico. October 10, 2008. As Corrected November 10, 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
Opinion and Order: Consejo de Salud de la Playa de Ponce vs. Johnny Rullan, Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Gustavo A. Gelpi. USDC, D of Puerto Rico. San Juan, PR. Civil Numbers 06-1260 (GAG) and 06-1524 (GAG) (Consolidated). 10 November 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
Guillermo A. Baralt, History of the Federal Court in Puerto Rico: 1899–1999 (2004) (Translated into English by Janis Palma, also published in Spanish as Historia del Tribunal Federal de Puerto Rico)

External links

Official Site
The Exclusion of Non-English-Speaking Jurors: Remedying a Century of Denial of the Sixth Amendment in the Federal Courts of Puerto Rico. Jasmine B. Gonzales Rose. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Vol. 46. (2011) Pages 497–549.

Active district judges of the First Circuit Court of Appeals

Puerto Rico

McConnell
Smith
McElroy
DuBose (Designate)

v t e Senior district judges of the First Circuit Court of Appeals
Maine	Hornby Singal Woodcock
Massachusetts	Zobel Young Wolf Woodlock Harrington Ponsor O'Toole Hillman
New Hampshire	Barbadoro McAuliffe
Puerto Rico	García-Gregory Besosa
Rhode Island	Lisi

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