---
title: "José Alberto Cabranes | KnowJudges"
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updated: "2026-10-09"
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# José Alberto Cabranes

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1994-present
- Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit — Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994; assumed senior status March 9, 2023
- Judge, District Court, D. Connecticut, 1979-1994
- Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut — Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979; served until 1994, including as Chief Judge (1992–1994).
- General counsel/director of government relations, Yale University, 1975-1979
- Associate professor of law, Rutgers University School of Law, 1971-1973
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

### Education

- M.Litt. in International Law, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge (1967).
- Yale University — J.D. (1965)
- Columbia College
- Columbia University

### Additional information

- Presiding Judge, FISCR — Served 2018–2020; also a judge on the FISCR from 2013–2020.
- Recipient of the Learned Hand Medal (2000) and the Philip Merrill Award (2019).
- Author of Citizenship and the American Empire (1979) and co-author of Fear of Judging (1998).
- First Puerto Rican appointed to a federal judgeship in the continental U.S. (1979).
- Rafael Hernandez Colon, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., 1973-1975
- Private practice, New York City, 1967-1971
- Supervisor in law, Queens' College, University of Cambridge, England, 1966-1967
- Date of birth: 1940-01-01
- Special counsel, Gov.
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
- Birth place: Mayaguez

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.

Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378686)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378686)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378686)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/497/jose-alberto-cabranes/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/497/jose-alberto-cabranes/)
- [Wikidata: José A. Cabranes](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6291233)

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