Hiram Rafael Cancio (August 26, 1920 – December 16, 2008) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of 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 ...

Education and career

Born Hiram Rafael Cancio VilellaBorn with a Spanish style dual surname, Cancio dropped his second (maternal) surname, retaining his first (paternal) surname, at some point in his life prior to his appointment to the federal bench. in San Sebastian,

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 ...

, Cancio 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 year ...

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 1942. He received 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 Ch ...

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 ...

in 1948. He was a member of

Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha (), commonly known as La Sigma, is a Puerto Rican fraternities and sororities, Puerto Rican fraternity originally established as the Sigma Delta Alpha Fraternity (Sociedad de Amigos) on October 22, 1928, at the University of Puert ...

fraternity. He served as a Sergeant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1944 to 1946 and after his discharge became a vocational advisor and psychometriest with the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 1946 to 1947. He was a trial examiner for the Puerto Rico Labor Relations Board in San Juan in 1948. He was Chief of the Legal Division of the Puerto Rico Labor Relations Board in San Juan from 1949 to 1952. He was Chairman of the Wage and Hours Commission under the Fair Labor Standards Act for the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

from 1952 to 1958. He was Director of the Labor Relations Institute at the University of Puerto Rico from 1952 to 1955. He was Dean of Administration at the University of Puerto Rico from 1955 to 1959. He was a Professor of Labor Relations and Labor Law at the University of Puerto Rico from 1952 to 1965. He was Commonwealth Attorney General of Puerto Rico from 1959 to 1962. He was Commonwealth Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico from 1962 to 1965.

Federal judicial service

Cancio served as a District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, then an Article IV territorial court, from 1965 to 1967, appointed to a term of eight years. In 1966, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed an act reorganizing the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico as an Article III court, with the judges thereof having life tenure and salary protection. Cancio was nominated by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

on January 16, 1967, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 80 Stat. 764. 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 June 12, 1967, and received his commission on June 12, 1967. He served as Chief Judge from 1967 to 1974. His service terminated on January 31, 1974, due to his resignation.

Post judicial service and death

After his resignation from the federal bench, Cancio engaged in the private practice of law. He died on December 16, 2008.

References

Sources

* * * Guillermo A. Baralt, ''History of the Federal Court in Puerto Rico: 1899-1999'' (2004) (also published in Spanish as ''Historia del Tribunal Federal de Puerto Rico'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Cancio, Hiram Rafael 1920 births 2008 deaths People from San Sebastián, Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni University of Puerto Rico faculty Hispanic and Latino American judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico United States Army soldiers United States federal judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers Puerto Rican lawyers

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Post judicial service and death

See also

References

Sources