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United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

 
Wikipedia: United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
 
United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
(D.P.R.)
Appeals to First Circuit
Established September 12, 1966
Judges assigned 7
Chief judge Jose Antonio Fuste
Official site

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citations, D.P.R.) 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. The Magistrate Judges are located in the adjacent Federico Degetau Federal Building, and several senior district judges hold court at the old 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 and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act are appealed to the Federal Circuit.

Contents

Judges

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

Judge Appointed by Began active
service
Ended active
service
Ended senior
status
End reason
, Raymond L. Acosta Ronald Reagan 19820930September 30, 1982 19940601June 1, 1994 Incumbent 0
, Francisco Besosa George W. Bush 20060927September 27, 2006 Incumbent 0 0
, Hiram Rafael Cancio Lyndon B. Johnson 19670612June 12, 1967 19740131January 31, 1974 0 resignation
, Salvador E. Casellas Bill Clinton 19940929September 29, 1994 20050610June 10, 2005 Incumbent 0
, Carmen Consuelo Cerezo Jimmy Carter 19800630June 30, 1980 Incumbent 0 0
, Aida Delgado-Colon George W. Bush 20060317March 17, 2006 Incumbent 0 0
, Daniel R. Dominguez Bill Clinton 19940929September 29, 1994 Incumbent 0 0
, Juan B. Fernandez-Badillo Lyndon B. Johnson 19671012October 12, 1967 19720630June 30, 1972 19891016October 16, 1989 death
, José A. Fusté Ronald Reagan 19851028October 28, 1985 Incumbent 0 0
, Jay A. Garcia-Gregory Bill Clinton 20000711July 11, 2000 Incumbent 0 0
, Gustavo Antonio Gelpi Jr. George W. Bush 20060801August 1, 2006 Incumbent 0 0
, Gilberto Gierbolini-Ortiz Jimmy Carter 19800220February 20, 1980 19931227December 27, 1993 20040323March 23, 2004 retirement
, Hector Manuel Laffitte Ronald Reagan 19830727July 27, 1983 20051115November 15, 2005 20070216February 16, 2007 retirement
, Juan Manuel Perez-Gimenez Jimmy Carter 19791206December 6, 1979 20060328March 28, 2006 Incumbent 0
, Hernan Gregorio Pesquera Richard M. Nixon 19721017October 17, 1972 19820908September 8, 1982 0 death
, Jaime Pieras Jr. Ronald Reagan 19820715July 15, 1982 19930801August 1, 1993 Incumbent 0
, Jose Victor Toledo Richard M. Nixon 19701201December 1, 1970 19800203February 3, 1980 0 death
, Juan R. Torruella Gerald Ford 19741220December 20, 1974 19841030October 30, 1984 0 reappointment

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

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.

U.S. Magistrate Judges Seal

United States Magistrate Judges

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

External links

References

Guillermo A. Baralt, History of the Federal Court in Puerto Rico: 1899-1999 (2004) (also published in Spanish as Historia del Tribunal Federal de Puerto Rico)


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