Juan R. Torruella
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and confirmed by voice vote, Juan R. Torruella was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He earned a law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1957. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1933–2020
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1984
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School 1954 · Boston Law 1957
- Succeeded by
- Gustavo Antonio Gelpí Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | District of Puerto Rico succeeded Hiram Rafael Cancio | Ford (R) | Voice vote |
| 1984 | First Circuit | 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
| University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School | B.S. | 1954 |
| Boston University School of Law | J.D. | 1957 |
| University of Virginia School of Law | LL.M. | 1984 |
| University of Puerto Rico School of Public Administration | M.P.A. | 1984 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Torruella authored 171 published opinions for the court (1975–2011). Most cited: Sanchez v. Pereira-Castillo (326 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Sanchez v. Pereira-Castillo | 590 F.3d 31 | 326 |
| 2007 | Mariani-Colón v. Department of Homeland Security | 511 F.3d 216 | 242 |
| 2011 | Rodriguez v. Municipality of San Juan | 659 F.3d 168 | 215 |
| 2008 | Giragosian v. Ryan | 547 F.3d 59 | 215 |
| 2008 | Welch v. Ciampa | 542 F.3d 927 | 198 |
| 2009 | Velez v. Thermo King De Puerto Rico, Inc. | 585 F.3d 441 | 179 |
| 2008 | Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System v. Boston Scientific Corp. | 523 F.3d 75 | 145 |
| 2011 | Perez-Cordero v. Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc. | 656 F.3d 19 | 144 |
| 2011 | United States v. Newell | 658 F.3d 1 | 141 |
| 2009 | United States Ex Rel. Duxbury v. Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. | 579 F.3d 13 | 132 |
| 2010 | Morales-Vallellanes v. Potter | 605 F.3d 27 | 130 |
| 2011 | Dialysis Access Center, LLC v. RMS Lifeline, Inc. | 638 F.3d 367 | 127 |
| 2009 | Colonial Life & Accident Insurance v. Medley | 572 F.3d 22 | 120 |
| 2008 | Torrech-Hernández v. General Electric Co. | 519 F.3d 41 | 120 |
| 2007 | In Re Sonus Networks, Inc. | 499 F.3d 47 | 119 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 171 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 Juan R. Torruella?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Juan R. Torruella to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in 1984.
- Was Juan R. Torruella appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Juan R. Torruella was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Juan R. Torruella's confirmation vote?
- Juan R. Torruella was confirmed by voice vote on October 4, 1984. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Juan R. Torruella on?
- Juan R. Torruella was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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36 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).