José Antonio Andreu García (September 18, 1937 – January 10, 2019) was a Puerto Rican jurist who served as the 13th

chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Jefe del Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the presiding officer of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. The post of Chief Justice was created by Article V of the Constitution of Puerto ...

from 1992 to 2003. He was known for his moderate approach to

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

Career and education

Andreu received his bachelor's degree in 1958 in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and his law degree in 1961 from the

University of Puerto Rico School of Law The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...

. From 1963 to 1973 he held the position of District Judge, Assistant District Attorney, District Attorney and Superior Court Judge. After privately practicing law for 19 years, in 1990 Governor

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

appointed Andreu to fill a vacancy as Associate Justice in the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Eighteen months later he was elevated to the position of Chief Justice after the retirement of Chief Justice Víctor Pons. Chief Justice Andreu had a brief dispute with Governor

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González, (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, a ...

in 1997 when Rosselló decided to have Associate Justice

Baltasar Corrada del Río Baltasar Corrada del Río (April 10, 1935 – March 11, 2018) was a Puerto Rican politician. He held various high political offices in the island, including President of the Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission, Resident Commissioner (1977–19 ...

deliver the oath of office to him during his second inauguration. Andreu publicly said this break with tradition was unnecessary. After eleven years at the helm of the court, Andreu decided to resign in 2003 during the governorship of

Sila Calderón Sila may refer to : Places and jurisdictions ; Asia * Silla, one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea * Sila, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ; Europe * La Sila, a mountainous area of Calabria, Italy ** Sila National Park * Siła, Warmian-Mas ...

. Calderón initially appointed Secretary of State Ferdinand Mercado to succeed Andreu but he was rejected by the Senate. Eventually, Andreu was replaced by his colleague Associate Justice

Miriam Naveira Miriam Naveira de Merly (July 28, 1934 – April 15, 2018) was a Puerto Rican jurist who served in the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1985 to 2004. Naveira was the first woman to serve on the court as well as the first female Chief Justice ( ...

. After his retirement Andreu returned to private practice. He died on January 10, 2019, at his home in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, at age 81.

External links

Bio at Supreme Court Site

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Andreu Garcia, Jose 1937 births 2019 deaths Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican judges University of Puerto Rico alumni 20th-century American judges