United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citation

Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...

s, D.P.R.; ) is the federal district court

United States district court

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. The court is based in San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

. The main building is the Clemente Ruiz Nazario

Clemente Ruiz Nazario

Clemente Ruiz Nazario was the first Puerto Rican appointed as a District Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, which is the federal court for Puerto Rico. Since his appointment, all other appointments have been of Puerto Rican men and women...

U.S. Courthouse located in the Hato Rey district of San Juan. The magistrate judges

United States magistrate judge

In the United States federal courts, magistrate judges are appointed to assist United States district court judges in the performance of their duties...

are located in the adjacent Federico Degetau Federal Building, and several senior district judges

Senior status

Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...

hold court at the and housed 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

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Maine* District of Massachusetts...

, which is headquartered in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

but hears appeals at the Old San Juan courthouse for two sessions each year. Patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act

Tucker Act

Through the Tucker Act , the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits....

are appealed to the Federal Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

-Vacancies and pending nominations:-List of former judges:-Chief judges:Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the court was initially created, Congress had to resolve which chief judge of the predecessor courts would become the first chief judge...

Scope and relevance

The Foraker Act

Foraker Act

The Foraker Act,officially the Organic Act of 1900, is a United States federal law that established civilian government on the island of Puerto Rico, which had been newly acquired by the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War. Section VII of the Foraker Act also established Puerto...

of 1900 create a federal territorial court operating within an unincorporated territory of the United States

Unincorporated territories of the United States

Unincorporated territory is a legal term of art in United States law denoting an area controlled by the government of the United States, but which is not a part of the United States proper ....

, the Article IV territorial Court

United States territorial court

The United States territorial courts are tribunals established in territories of the United States by the United States Congress, pursuant to its power under Article Four of the United States Constitution, the Territorial Clause...

for the district of Puerto Rico hears cases in a framework different from that found at true Article III Constitutional United States District Court

United States district court

within federal district courts.

Though they could be considered "territorial courts" in a semantic sense (since their jurisdictions are not states), the United States District Court for the District of Columbia

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a federal district court. Appeals from the District are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a...

, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...

, and the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

The United States District Court for the District of 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 U.S. Courthouse located in the Hato Rey district of San Juan...

are not U.S. territorial courts since D.C. and Puerto Rico are Article III federal judicial districts.

On Balzac v. Porto Rico
Balzac v. Porto Rico
Balzac v. Porto Rico, , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution did not apply to territories not incorporated into the union. It originated when Jesús M. Balzac was prosecuted for criminal libel in a district court of Puerto...

, 258 U.S. 298

Case citation

(1922) the U.S. Supreme Court concluded as an argument of non-incorporation:

“The United States District Court (in Puerto Rico) is not a true United States court established under Article 3 of the Constitution to administer the
judicial power of the United States therein conveyed. It is created by
virtue of the sovereign congressional faculty, granted under Article
4, §3, of the Constitution, of making all needful rules and
regulations respecting the territory belonging to the United States. The resemblance of its jurisdiction to that of true United States courts, in offering an opportunity to nonresidents of resorting to a tribunal not subject to local influence, does not change its character as a mere territorial court".

The territorial court created on the year 1900 by the U.S. Congress on Puerto Rico ceases to exist on 1966. The U.S. Congress transformed the territorial article IV court into an Article III Constitutional United States District Court

United States district court

by extending the article III constitution to the district. The United States District Court on the Puerto Rico jurisdiction born on 1966 and still in function today! The court created on the year 1900 adjourns on 1966! This article is about the court created on 1966, not the court created on 1900.

Why is it that Puerto Rico's courts are artice III courts and not article IV courts like the other territories? A law was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1966 granting life tenure to the judges of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. This was deemed appropriate in light of the court's caseload and the conferral of Commonwealth status on Puerto Rico. 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.

In Glidden Co. v. Zdanok
Glidden Co. v. Zdanok
Glidden Co. v. Zdanok , , is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that judges of the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals were judges created under Article III of the Constitution...

, the court cited Balzac and made the following statement regarding courts in unincorporated territories:
In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed Public Law 89-571, 80 Stat. 764, which
transformed the Article IV federal district court in Puerto Rico to an Article III Court. This Act of
Congress was not conducted pursuant to Article IV of the Constitution, the Territorial Clause,
but rather under Article III. This marks the first and only occasion in United States history in
which Congress establishes an Article III Court in a territory other than the District of Columbia.

Reason for enactment

There does not appear any 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. at 595 n.26 (“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 judicialstructure 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.

The territorial court created on the year 1900 by the U.S. Congress on Puerto Rico ceases to exist on 1966. The U.S. Congress transformed the territorial article IV court into an Article III Constitutional United States District Court by extending the article III constitution to the district. The United States District Court on the Puerto Rico jurisdiction born on 1966 and still in function today.
The court created on the year 1900 adjourns on 1966.

Current Judges

There are seven authorized active judgeships in the Puerto Rico District Court. Six active judges are currently sitting, together with five senior judges who may elect to supervise reduced caseloads.

On July 31, 2011, a vacancy was created when judge Daniel R. Dominguez assumed senior status. No replacement is currently pending.

Judge	Appointed by	Began active service	Ended active service	Ended senior status	End reason
Carmen Consuelo Cerezo Carmen Consuelo Cerezo Carmen Consuelo Cerezo is a United States federal judge.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cerezo received a B.A. from University of Puerto Rico in 1963, a J.D. from University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1966, and an LL.M. from University of Virginia School of Law in 1988...	Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...		Incumbent	–	–
José A. Fusté José A. Fusté Judge José Antonio Fusté , a United States District Judge, is the former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, a court which in recent years has seen the influx of three new, relatively young judges, including the court's second female member and current...	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....		Incumbent	–	–
Jay A. Garcia-Gregory Jay A. Garcia-Gregory Jay A. Garcia-Gregory is a United States federal judge.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Garcia-Gregory received an A.B. from Assumption College in 1966, an M.A. from the University of Madrid in 1969, and an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 1972. He was a law clerk, Hon....	Bill Clinton Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

}||Incumbent||–||–
|-
| Francisco Besosa

Francisco Besosa

Francisco Augusto Besosa Stubbe, is a Federal district judge in the District of Puerto Rico.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Besosa received an A.B. from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island in 1971, then served for six years in the United States Army before receiving a J.D. from the...

||George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

||||Incumbent||–||–
|-
| Aida Delgado-Colon

Aida Delgado-Colon

Aida M. Delgado-Colon is the current chief United States District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico. Nominated by President George W...

||George W. Bush

George W. Bush

||||Incumbent||–||–
|-
| Gustavo Antonio Gelpi Jr.||George W. Bush

George W. Bush

||||Incumbent||–||–
|-
| vacant
|-
| Juan Manuel Perez-Gimenez

Juan Manuel Perez-Gimenez

Juan Manuel Perez-Gimenez is a United States federal judge in senior status.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Perez-Gimenez received a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in 1963, an M.B.A. from George Washington University in 1965, and an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1968...

||Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

||||||Incumbent||–
|-
| Raymond L. Acosta

Raymond L. Acosta

Raymond L. Acosta was a United States federal judge.Born in New York, New York, Acosta received a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law in 1951. He was in private practice of law in Hackensack, New Jersey from 1953–54, and was then a special agent at the F.B.I. field office in San Diego,...

||Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

||||||Incumbent||–
|-
| Salvador E. Casellas

Salvador E. Casellas

Salvador E. Casellas is a United States federal judge.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Casellas received a B.S.F.S from Georgetown University in 1957, an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1960, and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 1961. He was in the United States Army from...

||Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

||||||Incumbent||–
|-
| Daniel R. Dominguez

Daniel R. Dominguez

Daniel R. Dominguez is a senior United States federal judge.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dominguez received a B.A. from Boston University in 1967 and an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1970. He was in the United States Army Reserve in 1967...

||Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

||||||Incumbent||–
|-
|}

United States Magistrate Judges

Chief Magistrate Judge Justo Arenas
Magistrate Judge Camille L. Velez-Rive
Magistrate Judge Bruce McGiverin
Magistrate Judge Marcos López

Former Judges

Judge	Appointed by	Began active service	Ended active service	Ended senior status	End reason
Hiram Rafael Cancio Hiram Rafael Cancio Hiram Rafael Cancio was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He received his B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in 1942, and his LL.D. from the same institution in 1948. He was a member of Phi Sigma Alpha Fraternity.Cancio was born in San Sebastian,...	Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

}||||–||resignation
|-
| Juan B. Fernandez-Badillo

Juan B. Fernandez-Badillo

Juan B. Fernandez-Badillo was a United States federal judge.Born in Aquadilla, Puerto Rico, Fernandez-Badillo received a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in 1942 and an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1945. He was an Assistant commonwealth attorney general of Puerto...

||Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

||||||||death
|-
| Gilberto Gierbolini-Ortiz

Gilberto Gierbolini-Ortiz

Gilberto Gierbolini-Ortiz is a former United States federal judge.Born in Coamo, Puerto Rico, Gierbolini-Ortiz was a Sergeant in the United States Army during World War II, from 1943 to 1946, and was later a Captain in the United States Army from 1951 to 1957, and served in Korea. He received a B.A...

||Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

||||||||retirement
|-
| Hector Manuel Laffitte

Hector Manuel Laffitte

Hector Manuel Laffitte is a former United States federal judge.Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Laffitte received a B.A. from Polytechnic Institute of Puerto Rico in 1955, an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1959, and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1960...

||Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

||||||||retirement
|-
| Hernan Gregorio Pesquera

Hernan Gregorio Pesquera

Hernan Gregorio Pesquera was a United States federal judge.Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Pesquera was in the United States Army during World War II, from 1940 to 1946. He received a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in 1944 and a LL.D. from Cornell Law School in 1948...

||Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

||||||–||death
|-
| Jose Victor Toledo

Jose Victor Toledo

Jose Victor Toledo was a United States federal judge.Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Toldeo received a B.A. from the University of Florida in 1952 and an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1955. He was a District judge of the Puerto Rico District Court in 1956...

||Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

||||||–||death
|-
| Juan R. Torruella

Juan R. Torruella

Juan R. Torruella is a Puerto Rican jurist, who currently serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He is the first and to date only Hispanic to serve in that court.-Education:...

||Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...

||||||–||reappointment
|-
| Jaime Pieras Jr.||Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

||||||||death
|-
|}

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

William H. Holt
William H. Holt
William H. Holt was the first judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, as established by the Foraker Act of 1900. Holt was appointed to this position by President William McKinley, and served a single four-year term from 1900 to 1904.-References:Guillermo A...

(1900-1904)
Charles F. McKenna
Charles F. McKenna
Charles F. McKenna was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 1904 to 1906. He was appointed to that office by President Theodore Roosevelt.-References:...

(1904-1906)
Bernard Shandon Rodey
Bernard Shandon Rodey
Bernard Shandon Rodey , Irish-American politician who was a Delegate from the New Mexico Territory and later a federal judge in Puerto Rico.- Early life :...

(1906-1910)
John J. Jenkins
John J. Jenkins
John James Jenkins was a Republican U.S. Representative from Wisconsin from 1895 to 1909.Born in Weymouth, England, Jenkins emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1852, where they settled in Baraboo, Wisconsin. During the American Civil War, Jenkins served as a private with the 6th...

(1910-1911)
Paul Charlton (1911-1913)
Peter J. Hamilton
Peter J. Hamilton
Peter Joseph Hamilton was an Alabama lawyer and historian who also served as Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 1913 to 1921....

(1913-1921)
Arthur F. Odlin
Arthur F. Odlin
Arthur Fuller Odlin was a judge of the United States courts in the Philippines and in Puerto Rico.Born and raised in Concord, New Hampshire, a son of Woodbridge and Abby P. Odlin, he attended Dartmouth College and Boston University School of Law . He married October 5, 1886 to Mary Emma Allen of...

(1921-1925)
Ira K. Wells
Ira K. Wells
Ira K. Wells was an American lawyer and a federal judge in Puerto Rico.Wells was born in Seneca, Kansas. After obtaining a law degree from the University of Kansas, he practiced law and became involved in politics in that state...

(1925-1933)
Robert A. Cooper (1933-1947)
David Chávez
David Chávez
David Chávez was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. A native of New Mexico, Chávez was appointed to the judgeship by President Harry S. Truman, and served from 1947 to 1950. He was the brother of United States Senator Dennis Chávez.-References:*Guillermo A...

(1947-1950)
Thomas H. Roberts
Thomas H. Roberts
Thomas H. Roberts was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Roberts was appointed to the judgeship by President Harry S. Truman, and served from 1950 to 1952.-References:...

(1950-1952)
Clemente Ruiz-Nazario (1952-1966)
Hiram Rafael Cáncio
Hiram Rafael Cancio
Hiram Rafael Cancio was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He received his B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in 1942, and his LL.D. from the same institution in 1948. He was a member of Phi Sigma Alpha Fraternity.Cancio was born in San Sebastian,...

(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

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico

The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is the highest court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority within Puerto Rico to interpret and decide questions of Commonwealth law. As the highest body of the judicial branch of the Puerto Rican government, it is analogous to one of the...

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.

Scope and relevance

Reason for enactment

Current Judges

United States Magistrate Judges

Former Judges

See also