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United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico | |
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(D.P.R.) | |
Location | Clemente Ruiz-Nazario United States Courthouse (San Juan) More locations |
Appeals to | First Circuit |
Established | September 12, 1966 |
Judges | 7 |
Chief Judge | Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach |
Officers of the court | |
U.S. Attorney | W. Stephen Muldrow |
U.S. Marshal | Wilmer Ocasio |
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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.
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:
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 ]
As of January 2,2024 [update] :
# | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
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 Antongiorgi-Jordán | San Juan | 1967 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
23 | District Judge | Camille 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 |
# | 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 Judge | |||
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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.
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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.
The Foraker Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Act of Congress#Public law, private law, designation 56–191, 31 Stat. 77, enacted April 12, 1900, officially known as the Organic Act of 1900, is a United States federal law that established civilian government on the island of Puerto Rico, which had recently become a possession of the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War. Section VII of the Foraker Act also established Puerto Rican citizenship and extended American nationality to Puerto Ricans. President William McKinley signed the act on April 12, 1900 and it became known as the Foraker Act after its sponsor, Ohio Senator Joseph B. Foraker. Its main author has been identified as Secretary of War Elihu Root.
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:
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indian reservations as they are not sovereign entities. In contrast, each state has a sovereignty separate from that of the federal government and each federally recognized Native American tribe possesses limited tribal sovereignty as a "dependent sovereign nation". Territories are classified by incorporation and whether they have an "organized" government through an organic act passed by the Congress. American territories are under American sovereignty and, consequently, may be treated as part of the U.S. proper in some ways and not others. Unincorporated territories in particular are not considered to be integral parts of the U.S., and the U.S. Constitution applies only partially in those territories.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1901 about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. Some scholars also include cases regarding territorial status decided up until 1914, and others include related cases as late as 1979. The term "insular" signifies that the territories were islands administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs. Today, the categorizations and implications put forth by the Insular Cases still govern the United States' territories.
Guayanilla is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Adjuntas, east of Yauco; and west of Peñuelas and about 12 miles (19 km) west of Ponce. Guayanilla is spread over 16 barrios and Guayanilla Pueblo. It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme courts of the states of the United States and is the highest state court and the court of last resort in Puerto Rico. Article V of the Constitution of Puerto Rico vests the judicial power in the Supreme Court, which by nature forms the judicial branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Supreme Court holds its sessions in San Juan.
Federal tribunals in the United States are those tribunals established by the federal government of the United States for the purpose of resolving disputes involving or arising under federal laws, including questions about the constitutionality of such laws. Such tribunals include both Article III tribunals as well as adjudicative entities which are classified as Article I or Article IV tribunals. Some of the latter entities are also formally denominated as courts, but they do not enjoy certain protections afforded to Article III courts. These tribunals are described in reference to the article of the United States Constitution from which the tribunal's authority stems. The use of the term "tribunal" in this context as a blanket term to encompass both courts and other adjudicative entities comes from section 8 of Article I of the Constitution, which expressly grants Congress the power to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court of the United States.
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. Most United States territorial courts are defunct because the territories under their jurisdiction have become states or been retroceded.
Hiram Rafael Cancio was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Clemente Ruiz Nazario, was the first Puerto Rican appointed as District Judge to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Juan Luis Boscio Desprez was a Puerto Rican merchant and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico from 1961 to 1964. During his tenure as mayor, in 1962, a major shopping mall opened in the city called Centro del Sur which, at the moment of its opening was "the most modern in the Caribbean".
Carmen Consuelo Cerezo is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Cerezo is the first Latina to serve on a federal bench, and the first female federal judge in Puerto Rico. At the time of her retirement in 2021, Cerezo was the last federal judge in active service to have been appointed to her position by President Jimmy Carter.
Juan B. Fernandez-Badillo was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Carlos Juan Cintrón Figueroa was mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico from 1957 to 1961. However, in year 1960, during a period while Cintron held his post as mayor, Helvetia Nicole filled in as interim mayor. After his tenure as mayor, Cintrón was president of Puerto Rico's Unión de Trabajadores de Acero.
Barrio Playa, also known as Playa de Ponce, Ponce Playa, or La Playa, is one of the thirty-one barrios that comprise the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Bucaná, Canas, Vayas, and Capitanejo, Playa is one of the municipality's five coastal barrios. Barrio Playa also incorporates several islands, the largest of which is Caja de Muertos. It was founded in 1831.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such, the archipelago and island of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state.
The Popular Democratic Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Puerto Rican Liberal Party and the Unionist Party and originally promoted policies on the center-left. In recent years, however, its leaders have described the party as centrist.
The political status of Puerto Rico has ramifications into many spheres of Puerto Rican life, and there are limits to the level of autonomy the Puerto Rican government has. For example, the Island's government is not fully autonomous, and the level of federal presence in the Island is common place, including a branch of the United States Federal District Court. There are also implications relative to the American citizenship carried by people born in Puerto Rico. Specifically, although people born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are natural born U.S. citizens, their citizenship is not protected by the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As such, the American citizenship of Puerto Ricans can be taken away by the U.S. Congress unilaterally. Puerto Ricans are also covered by a group of "fundamental civil rights" but, since Puerto Rico is not a state, Puerto Ricans are not covered by the full American Bill of Rights. As for taxation, Puerto Ricans pay U.S. federal taxes, but most residents of the island are not required to file federal income tax returns. Representation-wise, Puerto Ricans have no voting representative in the U.S. Congress, but do have a Resident Commissioner who has a voice in Congress. Puerto Ricans must also serve in the United States military anytime conscription is ordered, with the same duties as a US citizen residing in the 50 states.
Bahía de Ponce is a bay in Barrio Playa, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The Bay is home to the most important commercial harbor on the Puerto Rico south coast and the second largest in Puerto Rico. The Cardona Island Light is located on the Bay to mark the way into the Bay from the nearby Caja de Muertos Light.