Antonio Miguel Sagardía-De Jesús (born August 11, 1957) is a Puerto Rican lawyer who served as Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico. He was appointed by Governor Luis Fortuño and sworn in by Secretary of State

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...

on January 2, 2009. He resigned on December 23, 2009.

Controversies

In May 2009, Mr. Sagardía was involved in a confrontation with representative Luis Vega Ramos during a budget hearing. Vega Ramos questioned contracts the

Puerto Rico Department of Justice The Puerto Rico Department of Justice (PR DOJ) is the Executive Department of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico responsible for the enforcement of the local law in the commonwealth and the administration of justice. The Department is equivalent ...

had awarded to Sagardia's former partner Víctor A. Ramos. It had previously surfaced that Sagardia, acting as Attorney General, had granted the release from prison of a convicted murderer represented by his former partner. During the confrontation Mr. Sagardia was reported to have called Vega Ramos a scoundrel, a chump lawyer and an intellectual dwarf. Upon resigning his post as Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico, Sagardía then represented murder suspect Ana Cacho in the high-profile case of the

Murder of Lorenzo González Cacho Lorenzo Ahmed González Cacho (November 29, 2001 – March 9, 2010) was an eight-year-old Puerto Rican boy who was murdered in his home in Dorado, Puerto Rico, on March 9, 2010. At the time of his death, his mother, Ana Cacho, and two sisters we ...

, a move that was seen as unethical by many.

Duties and Powers

As the top law enforcement official in Puerto Rico, Sagardía headed a unified prosecutorial system in which all district attorneys are appointed by the Governor and served under Attorney General Sagardía. On its own discretion and authority, the Office of the Attorney General may investigate constitutional and politically sensitive issues. Prior to taking office, Sagardía embarked on the task of reviewing the Justice Department's conduct, during several politically sensitive investigations carried out under his predecessor.

Line of Succession

In the event that the Governor of Puerto Rico is traveling away from Puerto Rico, the Attorney General is second in the line of succession, after the Secretary of State. On January 18, 2009, Attorney General Sagardía served as the first Acting Governor of Puerto Rico during the 2009–2013 term, when then

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

Luis Fortuño and 22nd

Secretary of State of Puerto Rico The secretary of state of Puerto Rico ( es, Secretario de Estado de Puerto Rico) leads all efforts that promote the cultural, political, and economical relations between Puerto Rico and foreign countries, and other jurisdictions of the United S ...

both attended the inaugural ceremonies of then American President-elect Barack Obama.

Personal Background

Sagardía was born in 1957. He is a former district attorney and attorney in private practice, both before and after serving as the Puerto Rican Attorney General. He is a member of the Governor's New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico, and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagardia, Antonio 1957 births Living people Members of the 15th Cabinet of Puerto Rico Secretaries of Justice of Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni