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title: "Juan R. Torruella | KnowJudges"
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# Juan R. Torruella

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

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 1984-present
- Juan Rafael Torruella del Valle Sr. (1933–2020) was a Puerto Rican jurist who held the role of a U.S. District Judge for Puerto Rico and as a judge and later Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, making history as the first Hispanic on that appellate court
- Chief Judge of the First Circuit (1994–2001)
- Judge, District Court, D. Puerto Rico, 1974-1984
- Chief Judge of the District Court (1982–84)
- Began as a law clerk to Justice Pedro Pérez-Pimentel of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (1957–58) and worked for the National Labor Relations Board (1958–60) before entering private practice in San Juan.
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

### Education

- He later obtained an LL.M. from the University of Virginia (1984), an M.P.A. from the University of Puerto Rico (1984), and a Master of Studies in Modern European History from Magdalen College, Oxford (2003).
- the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with his bachelor's degree — 1954

### Additional information

- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit: Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, confirmed October 4, 1984, and served until his death in 2020.
- Joined the court in 1984 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan (R).
- U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico: Nominated by President Gerald Ford in 1974, confirmed December 18, 1974, and served from 1974 until his 1984 elevation to the First Circuit.
- Private practice, San Juan, PR, 1959-1974
- He attended the Admiral Farragut Academy in New Jersey, obtained a B.S. in Economics and Insurance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (1954), and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law (1957).
- Born June 7, 1933 in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Torruella grew up in a family of legal professionals.
- Date of birth: 1933-01-01
- Over 36 years on the First Circuit, Torruella heard cases on Puerto Rican statehood, libel law, abortion rights, maritime law, and criminal appeals.
- Notably, he joined the unanimous panel striking down the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act barring same-sex couples from federal benefits, and he was part of the panel vacating the death sentence of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
- Birth place: San Juan

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3246/juan-r-torruella/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3246/juan-r-torruella/)
- [Court of Appeals for the First Circuit current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3246/juan-r-torruella/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3246/juan-r-torruella/)
- [Juan Torruella - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Juan_Torruella)
- [Wikidata: Juan R. Torruella](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6300837)

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