Juan Torruella
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Juan Rafael Torruella del Valle Sr. (June 7, 1933October 26, 2020) was a Puerto Rican jurist. He served as a
United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts * ...
from 1984 until his death, and as chief judge of that court from 1994 to 2001. He was the first
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
to serve on the First Circuit, which includes Puerto Rico.Sam Roberts
Juan R. Torruella, Groundbreaking U.S. Appeals Judge, Dies at 87
, ''New York Times'' (October 28, 2020).
Before becoming an appellate judge, he served as a district judge on the
United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citations, D.P.R.; es, Tribunal del Distrito de Puerto Rico) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is b ...
from 1974 to 1984. He was also a competitive sailor, competing for the Puerto Rican team at the
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976.


Education and career

Torruella was born in
Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the Isleta de San Juan, islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, Catedral, Ma ...
, on June 7, 1933, to Juan N. Torruella and Belén del Valle de Torruella. His father was a dentist who became a lawyer. Torruella graduated from the
Admiral Farragut Academy Admiral Farragut Academy, established in 1933, is a private, College-preparatory school, college-prep school serving students in grades K–12, K-12. Farragut is located in St. Petersburg, Florida in Pinellas County and is surrounded by the comm ...
in
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. He received his
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
from the
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...
in 1954, his
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...
in 1957, his
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
from
University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...
in 1984, and a
Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...
from University of Puerto Rico School of Public Administration in 1984. His LL.M. work focused on judicial process. In 2003, Torruella received a
Master of Studies The Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St. or MSt; ) is a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, University of Dublin and the University of New ...
in modern European history from
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
. Torruella became a member of
International Council Of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
in 2006, and served as Deputy President of the CAS Ordinary Arbitration Division from 2010 to 2014.


Career as a lawyer

Although he intended to practice law in Massachusetts following his graduation from law school, Torruella did not take the Massachusetts
bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associa ...
because he contracted a serious case of the
mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gener ...
the day before the exam.Jose A. Fuentes-Agostinia & Gustavo A. Gelpi, Jr., "Judges Profile: The Honorable Juan R. Torruella," ''Federal Lawyer'' (August 1997). He instead returned to Puerto Rico and was admitted to the bar there. He served as
law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
to Associate Justice
Pedro Pimentel Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Galician language, Galician name for ''Peter (given name), Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic fo ...
of the
Puerto Rico Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme cou ...
, and then worked for three years for the
National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...
in an investigations and litigation role in Puerto Rico. His practice was mostly in civil law, including
admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...
, aviation, and labor law, but he also served as court-appointed counsel in some criminal cases. Torruella was in private practice of law in San Juan from 1959 to 1974, where he handled cases in both the federal courts and the Puerto Rico courts. He first worked at the law firm of Fiddler, Gonzalez & Rodriguez for eight years, becoming a partner at the firm. Torruella then became a solo practitioner, and then practiced law in partnership with
Jaime Pieras, Jr. Jaime Pieras Jr. (May 19, 1924 – June 11, 2011) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Education and career Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Attended Colegio San José. Pieras o ...
, who later became a federal district judge.


Federal judicial service


District court service

Torruella was nominated by President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
on November 18, 1974, to a seat on the
United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citations, D.P.R.; es, Tribunal del Distrito de Puerto Rico) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is b ...
vacated by Judge
Hiram Rafael Cancio Hiram Rafael Cancio (August 26, 1920 – December 16, 2008) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Education and career Born Hiram Rafael Cancio VilellaBorn with a Spanish style d ...
. He 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 December 18, 1974, and received his commission two days later. He served as chief judge from 1982 to 1984. His service was terminated on October 30, 1984, due to his elevation to the First Circuit. In 1979, Torruella was the judge in various criminal trespass cases against demonstrators who entered a beach in Vieques to protest its use by the U.S. Navy. Torruella ordered that the demonstrators receive separate trials. Some defendants were sentenced to prison; others received six-month suspended sentences. Some of the demonstrators were radical pro-independence advocates and refused to acknowledge the federal court's jurisdiction or to defend themselves at trial.Puerto Ricans Vow to Avenge Death in U.S. Prison
, ''New York Times'' (November 18, 1979).

, ''New York Times'' (December 4, 1979).
The Vieques cases were the highest-profile of Torruella's cases over his decade as a district judge.


Court of appeals service

Torruella was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
on August 1, 1984, to the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts * ...
, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 3, 1984PN1037 — Juan R. Torruella del Valle — The Judiciary
, 98th Congress (1983-1984), Congress.gov.
by
voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
. He received his commission the following day, becoming the first Puerto Rican to serve on the circuit court bench. José A. Fusté replaced Torruella on the district bench. Torruella served as chief judge of the First Circuit from 1994 to 2001. Although his length of service entitled him to assume
senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
, Torruella chose to remain a judge on active service and continued to hear cases until his death in 2020.


Notable decisions and work

Torruella was consistently an advocate of Puerto Rican rights. He dissented from a 2005 ruling ''en banc'' First Circuit decision that
Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...
are properly denied a voice in the election of the president of the United States because Puerto Rico is not a state. In August 2017, Torruella wrote a lengthy dissent when the ''
en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
'' circuit rejected a lawsuit challenging Puerto Rico's exclusion from
congressional apportionment United States congressional apportionment is the process by which seats in the United States House of Representatives are distributed among the 50 states according to the most recent decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. ...
. Torruella wrote the book ''The Supreme Court and Puerto Rico: The Doctrine of Separate and Unequal'' (University of Puerto Rico: 1988), a study of the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
's decisions in the
Insular Cases The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1901 about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. Some scholars also include cases regarding territorial status decided up unti ...
, in which Torruella argues that "colonial rule and the indignities of
second-class citizenship A second-class citizen is a person who is systematically and actively discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or a legal resident there. While not necessarily slaves, o ...
can be ended not, as in the case of the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, by granting the colony its independence ... but rather, by securing for Puerto Rico equality under American law" including
Puerto Rican statehood The Puerto Rico statehood movement ( es, movimiento estadista de Puerto Rico) aims to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territorial possession of the United States acquired in 1898 following the Spa ...
. The book was favorably reviewed by Judge
José A. Cabranes José Alberto Cabranes (born December 22, 1940) is an American lawyer who serves as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a former presiding judge of the United States Foreign Intell ...
in the ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...
''. In a 2018 article, Torruella argued that "Puerto Rico's colonial relationship to the United States throughout the United States' various 'experiments' with Puerto Rico and its people, although variously labeled for political purposes and constitutionally denominated an '
unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...
,' has merely perpetuated the inherent inequality of the United States citizens who reside in Puerto Rico as compared to the rest of the nation, and is the major cause of the Island's economic crisis." Torruella authored the First Circuit opinion in '' Planned Parenthood of Northern New England v. Heed'' (2004), in which the court upheld the district court's decision declaring New Hampshire's "
parental notification Parental consent laws (also known as parental involvement laws) in some countries require that one or more parents consent to or be notified before their minor child can legally engage in certain activities. Parental consent may refer to: *A pa ...
" abortion law unconstitutional, and
enjoining An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
its enforcement. The decision held that the state law was inconsistent with the Constitution and relevant Supreme Court constitutional decisions in ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'', ''
Stenberg v. Carhart ''Stenberg v. Carhart'', 530 U.S. 914 (2000), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court dealing with a Nebraska law which made performing "partial-birth abortion" illegal, without regard for the health of the mother. Nebraska physicians who ...
'', and ''
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey ''Planned Parenthood v. Casey'', 505 U.S. 833 (1992), was a landmark case of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court upheld the right to have an abortion as established by the "essential holding" of ''Roe v. Wade'' (1973) and ...
''. The case later went to the Supreme Court in ''
Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England ''Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England'', 546 U.S. 320 (2006), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving a facial challenge to New Hampshire's parental notification abortion law. The First Circuit had ru ...
'' (2006). In 2009, Torruella wrote the opinion in ''Noonan v. Staples, Inc.'', allowing a suit for
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
to proceed because even though the statements at issue were true they reflected "actual malice." (Under the law in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the U.S., truth is usually an
absolute defense In law, an absolute defence (or defense) is a factual circumstance or argument that, if proven, will end the litigation in favor of the defendant. The concept of an absolute defence is not a rigid one. Statutes frequently use the term merely ...
to libel, but Massachusetts law contains an exception if the defendant made the statement with "actual malice.")
Noonan v. Staples, Inc.
'', 556 F. 3d 20 (1st Cir. 2009).
Torruella's decision did not decide the question of whether this exception was inconsistent with the Constitution's
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
because the argument was raised too late in the proceedings. A ''Harvard Law Review'' comment indicated that "the court's analysis serves as an indication that, had the constitutional claim been appropriately asserted, the law would not have survived." In 2012, Torruella joined a unanimous First Circuit panel decision (written by Judge
Michael Boudin Michael Boudin ( ; born November 29, 1939) is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He served as Chief Judge of that court from 2001 to 2008. Before his service on the First Circuit, he ...
) in ''
Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services ''Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services'' 682 F.3d 1 is a United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision that affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Massachus ...
''. The decision struck down section 3 of the
Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
(DOMA), which denied federal benefits to all
same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a Romance (love), romantic or Human sexuality, sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil ...
, even those legally married under state law. In 2015, Torruella dissented from a First Circuit decision denying
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
's request for a
writ of mandamus (; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...
compelling the district court to grant a
change of venue A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to widespread publici ...
of Tsarnaev's trial due to widespread pretrial publicity. In July 2020, Torruella joined the opinion of Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson in vacating the federal death sentence of convicted Boston Marathon bomber
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
, on the basis of legal errors in the sentencing proceedings. The First Circuit remanded to the district court for a new penalty phase. In a
concurring opinion In law, a concurring opinion is in certain legal systems a written opinion by one or more judges of a court which agrees with the decision made by the majority of the court, but states different (or additional) reasons as the basis for their deci ...
, Torruella wrote that he would have gone further to hold that the district court's denials of Tsarnaev's motions for change of venue were an
abuse of discretion Discretion has the meaning of acting on one's own authority and judgment. In law, discretion as to legal rulings, such as whether evidence is excluded at a trial, may be exercised by a judge. Some view discretion negatively, while some view it ...
that "denied Tsarnaev the right to a fair trial and sentencing determination," given the huge media coverage of the bombing in the Boston area. Torruella cited the precedent in the trial of
Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third o ...
for the
Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...
, in which a change of venue to Denver was granted.


Sailing career

Torruella competed for Puerto Rico in four Olympic sailing events: * 1964:
Enoshima is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, and is linked to ...
in the Finn (31st) * 1968:
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
in the
Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
(28th) * 1972:
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
in the
Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
(27th) * 1976: Kingston in the
Soling The Soling is an open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the 1972 Olympics (Kiel) until the 2000 Olympics (Sydney) as " Open Three Person Keelboat". Besides the Olympic career of the Soli ...
(22nd) Torruella was
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of the Puerto Rican team in each of the four Olympics. He also competed in the
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and
1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...
. In the
1984 Summer Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
in Los Angeles, Torruella served as a coach; he was informed of his appointment to the First Circuit while coaching in summer 1974. As a yachtsman, Torruella made several long-distance sea voyages, including two trans-Atlantic crossings in 1992, on the 500th anniversary of
Columbus's first voyage Between 1492 and 1504, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus led four Spanish transatlantic maritime expeditions of discovery to the Americas. These voyages led to the widespread knowledge of the New World. This breakthrough inaugurated the per ...
; a few years later, Torruella undertook an 8,000-mile sailing trip across the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
and
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, where he visited the
Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
and
Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune spa ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, before traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina, via
Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
.


Personal life and death

Torruella met his wife, Judith (Judy) Wirt in 1955 and had two sons, two daughters, eight grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren. Torruella died on October 26, 2020, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the age of 87.


Publications

* *


See also

*
List of United States federal judges by longevity of service This is a list of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. The judges on the lists below were presidential appointees who have been confirmed by the Senate, and who served on the federal bench for over 40 years. It includ ...
*
List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists This is a list of Hispanic/Latino Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, or administrative law judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts. Other topics of interest * List ...
* List of Puerto Ricans


References


Sources

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torruella, Juan Rafael 1933 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American judges American sportsmen American athlete-politicians Boston University School of Law alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico Olympic sailors of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican judges Puerto Rican lawyers Puerto Rican male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Soling United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sailors at the 1975 Pan American Games Sailors at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Puerto Rico