Héctor Manuel Laffitte
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 and confirmed by voice vote, Héctor Manuel Laffitte was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He earned a law degree from University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 1959. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1934 · age 92
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1983
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Polytechnic Institute of Puerto Rico (now Interamerican) 1955 · University of Puerto Rico Law 1959
- Succeeded
- Hernan Gregorio Pesquera
- Succeeded by
- Gustavo Antonio Gelpí Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | District of Puerto Rico succeeded Hernan Gregorio Pesquera | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| Polytechnic Institute of Puerto Rico (now Interamerican University) | B.A. | 1955 |
| University of Puerto Rico School of Law | LL.B. | 1959 |
| Georgetown College (now Georgetown University) Law Center | LL.M. | 1960 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Laffitte was assigned 3,050 district-court cases (1984–2006). Median time from filing to termination: 301 days across 3,050 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 14 of Laffitte’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 14 were affirmed, 0 reversed or vacated. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Laffitte authored 302 published opinions for the court (1983–2006). Most cited: Dominguez v. Eli Lilly and Co. (96 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Dominguez v. Eli Lilly and Co. | 958 F. Supp. 721 | 96 |
| 1994 | Flamand v. American International Group, Inc. | 876 F. Supp. 356 | 64 |
| 1995 | Tavarez v. Champion Products, Inc. | 903 F. Supp. 268 | 59 |
| 1996 | Hernandez v. Wangen | 938 F. Supp. 1052 | 49 |
| 2000 | Matos Ortiz v. Com. of Puerto Rico | 103 F. Supp. 2d 59 | 36 |
| 1984 | Reyes v. Banco Santander De P.R., N.A. | 583 F. Supp. 1444 | 36 |
| 1996 | Nieves Domenech v. Dymax Corp. | 952 F. Supp. 57 | 33 |
| 2002 | Outek Caribbean Distributors, Inc. v. Echo, Inc. | 206 F. Supp. 2d 263 | 28 |
| 2002 | Metlife Capital Corp. v. Westchester Fire Insurance | 224 F. Supp. 2d 374 | 25 |
| 1998 | Landrau Romero v. Caribbean Restaurants, Inc. | 14 F. Supp. 2d 185 | 25 |
| 1991 | Riofrio Anda v. Ralston Purina Co. | 772 F. Supp. 46 | 23 |
| 1997 | Mendez Marrero v. Toledo | 968 F. Supp. 27 | 22 |
| 1993 | Pedrosillo Music, Inc. v. Radio Musical, Inc. | 815 F. Supp. 511 | 22 |
| 1985 | Gemco Latinoamerica, Inc. v. Seiko Time Corp. | 623 F. Supp. 912 | 22 |
| 1995 | Soto v. Carrasquillo | 878 F. Supp. 324 | 21 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 302 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Héctor Manuel Laffitte?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Héctor Manuel Laffitte to the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in 1983.
- Was Héctor Manuel Laffitte appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Héctor Manuel Laffitte was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Héctor Manuel Laffitte's confirmation vote?
- Héctor Manuel Laffitte was confirmed by voice vote on July 26, 1983. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Héctor Manuel Laffitte on?
- Héctor Manuel Laffitte was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
23 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).