Rafael L. Martínez Torres at a glance
- Current role
- Associate Justice
- Jurisdiction
- Puerto Rico · Territorial
- Judicial service
- Active
Rafael L. Martínez Torres
Associate Justice · Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Biography
Professional career
- Puerto Rican jurist and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, a position he has held since March 10, 2009
- On February 4, 2009, Governor Luis Fortuño nominated Martínez to fill the vacancy left by Justice Baltasar Corrada del Río
- In February 1995, Governor Pedro Rosselló appointed him as a judge on the newly created Puerto Rico Court of Appeals, where he served for 14 years, becoming the youngest judge in that court at the time.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus in 1980.
Additional information
- Sworn in on March 10, 2009.
- He also contributed to drafting the Court of Appeals Rules (1996–2004) Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
- In 1993, he returned to public service as Executive Director of the House of Representatives’ Government Committee, where he reviewed legislative measures, including judicial reform laws
- From 1988 to 1993, he taught the Paralegal course at the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras Campus.
- In 1983, he received his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, where he held the role of editor of the Law Review and research assistant to constitutional law professor José Julián Álvarez
- He graduated in 1976 with high honors from Ana Roqué High School
- Martínez was born February 14, 1959, in Humacao, Puerto Rico.
- Martínez began his legal career in the Puerto Rico Supreme Court as a legal advisor in the Judicial Conference Secretariat and later in the Central Panel.
- He then practiced privately for nine years
- focusing on civil and appellate litigation, working in firms such as Rivera Cestero & Marchand Quintero and Fiddler, González & Rodríguez, before opening his own practice Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Puerto Rico Supreme Court Rules
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Supreme Court only; dated 2011 compilation with later amendments listed by publisher. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked July 27, 2026.
Biography sources checked July 27, 2026.
Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 27, 2026
View Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico official judicial roster ↗SUMAC, Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 27, 2026
View SUMAC, Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos ↗