---
title: "Rafael L. Martínez Torres | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rafael-l-martinez-torres-pr-pr-supreme-court"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-27"
---

# Rafael L. Martínez Torres

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico · Associate Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
- State: Puerto Rico
- Role: Associate Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-27

## Summary

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

## 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.

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://poderjudicial.pr/tribunal-supremo/composicion-del-tribunal-supremo/)
- [Official roster](https://poderjudicial.pr/tribunal-supremo/composicion-del-tribunal-supremo/)
- [Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico official judicial roster](https://poderjudicial.pr/tribunal-supremo/composicion-del-tribunal-supremo/)
- [SUMAC, Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos](https://poderjudicial.pr/tribunal-electronico/sumac/)

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## 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](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-1eda345778c37f823db432fa) — 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](https://poderjudicial.pr/Documentos/Supremo/Reglas/Reglamento-Tribunal-Supremo.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.