Hernan Gregorio Pesquera (May 25, 1924 – September 8, 1982) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Education and career

Born in Santurce,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, Pesquera was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1940 to 1946. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

in 1944 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

in 1948. He was in private practice in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, Puerto Rico from 1948 to 1949, and was then assistant chief of the Legal Department of the Puerto Rico Transport Authority until 1951, and manager and attorney of the Wholesale Merchants Association from 1951 to 1953. He returned to private practice in San Juan from 1953 to 1972, also serving as Chairman of the Puerto Rico Racing Board from 1971 to 1972.

Military service

Pesquera was a Platoon Sergeant in the

, and also attended the United States Army Officers Candidate School at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia from May 1944 to February 1945, when he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was honorably discharged from active duty as a First Lieutenant. After his active service, he was a member of the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

from June 1946 until he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1973. He received the Meritorious Service Medal on his retirement. The United States Army Reserve Center in Fort Allen, Puerto Rico is named after Pesquera.

Federal judicial service

On September 5, 1972, Pesquera was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico vacated by Judge Juan B. Fernandez-Badillo. Pesquera was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on October 12, 1972, and received his commission on October 17, 1972. He served as Chief Judge from 1980 until his death on September 8, 1982.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pesquera, Hernan Gregorio 1924 births 1982 deaths Cornell Law School alumni Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon 20th-century American judges University of Puerto Rico alumni United States Army reservists United States Army officers Puerto Rican military officers United States Army personnel of World War II

Education and career

Military service

Federal judicial service

See also

References

Sources