Juan R. Torruella facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Juan R. Torruella
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit | |
| In office August 3, 1994 – June 15, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Stephen Breyer |
| Succeeded by | Michael Boudin |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit | |
| In office October 4, 1984 – October 26, 2020 |
|
| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 98 Stat. 333 |
| Succeeded by | Gustavo Gelpí |
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico | |
| In office September 8, 1982 – October 30, 1984 |
|
| Preceded by | Hernan Gregorio Pesquera |
| Succeeded by | Juan Pérez-Giménez |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico | |
| In office December 20, 1974 – October 30, 1984 |
|
| Appointed by | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Hiram Rafael Cancio |
| Succeeded by | José A. Fusté |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Juan Rafael Torruella del Valle
June 7, 1933 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Died | October 26, 2020 (aged 87) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BS) Boston University School of Law (JD) University of Virginia School of Law (LLM) University of Puerto Rico (MPA) Magdalen College, Oxford University (MSt) |
Juan Rafael Torruella del Valle Sr. (June 7, 1933 – October 26, 2020) was an important figure from Puerto Rico. He was a United States federal judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. This court hears appeals from lower courts in places like Puerto Rico. He was a judge there from 1984 until he passed away. From 1994 to 2001, he was the chief judge of that court. He was also the first Hispanic person to serve on the First Circuit.
Before becoming an appeals judge, he worked as a judge in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 1974 to 1984. Besides his legal career, Juan Torruella was also a talented sailor. He competed for the Puerto Rican team in the Summer Olympic Games four times: in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Juan Torruella was born in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 7, 1933. His father was a dentist who later became a lawyer.
Juan Torruella went to the Admiral Farragut Academy in New Jersey. He studied at several universities, earning different degrees. He got his first degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1954. Later, he earned a law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1957. He continued his studies, getting more degrees from the University of Virginia School of Law and the University of Puerto Rico. In 2003, he even earned a degree in modern European history from Magdalen College, Oxford.
In 2006, Juan Torruella became a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. This group helps settle disagreements in the world of sports. He also served as a leader in one of its divisions from 2010 to 2014.
Becoming a Lawyer
After finishing law school, Juan Torruella planned to work as a lawyer in Massachusetts. However, he got sick and couldn't take the exam needed to practice law there. So, he returned to Puerto Rico and became a lawyer there instead.
He started his legal career by working for a judge on the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. Then, he spent three years working for the National Labor Relations Board, investigating and handling legal cases. He mostly worked on civil law cases, which deal with disputes between people or organizations. He also helped with some criminal cases. From 1959 to 1974, he worked in private law firms in San Juan. He became a partner at one firm and later worked with another lawyer, Jaime Pieras, Jr., who also became a federal judge.
Serving as a Federal Judge
District Court Judge
On November 18, 1974, President Gerald Ford chose Juan Torruella to be a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The United States Senate approved his nomination, and he officially became a judge on December 20, 1974. He served as the chief judge of this court from 1982 to 1984.
During his time as a district judge, Juan Torruella handled many important cases. For example, in 1979, he presided over cases involving people who entered a beach in Vieques, Puerto Rico to protest its use by the U.S. Navy. These were some of the most well-known cases he handled during his ten years as a district judge.
Appeals Court Judge
President Ronald Reagan nominated Juan Torruella to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on August 1, 1984. This was a new position created for the court. The Senate approved him, and he became a judge on this higher court on October 4, 1984. This made him the first person from Puerto Rico to serve on this important appeals court. José A. Fusté took his place as a district judge.
Juan Torruella became the chief judge of the First Circuit in 1994 and served in that role until 2001. Even though he could have retired, he chose to keep working as an active judge. He continued to hear cases until he passed away in 2020.
An Olympic Sailor
Juan Torruella was a dedicated sailor and competed for Puerto Rico in four different Olympic Games:
- In 1964, he sailed in the Finn boat.
- In 1968, he competed in the Flying Dutchman boat.
- In 1972, he again sailed in the Flying Dutchman.
- In 1976, he competed in the Soling boat.
He was the captain of the Puerto Rican sailing team in all four of these Olympics. He also competed in the 1975 Pan American Games and 1979 Pan American Games. In the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Juan Torruella served as a coach for the team. It was during this time that he learned he would be appointed to the First Circuit court.
As a yachtsman, Juan Torruella loved long-distance sea voyages. In 1992, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean twice, celebrating 500 years since Columbus's first voyage. A few years later, he took an amazing 8,000-mile trip. He sailed across the Caribbean Sea, through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean. On this journey, he visited the Galápagos Islands and Puerto Montt, Chile, before traveling all the way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, by sailing around Cape Horn.
Personal Life
Juan Torruella met his wife, Judith (Judy) Wirt, in 1955. They had two sons and two daughters, along with eight grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Juan Torruella passed away on October 26, 2020, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the age of 87.
