Efraín E. Rivera Pérez (July 15, 1951 – September 15, 2013) was a Puerto Rican jurist who served as an

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

on the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of 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 courts of the states of the United State ...

. He held the position from 2000 to 2010.

Personal life

Born in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...

, he earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a Public university, public land-grant university in Mayagüez ...

, and in 1975, he acquired the degree of Juris Doctor from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law is the law school of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, a private Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was established in 1961. Histo ...

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

Career

He began his career as a trial lawyer, and later became a trial lawyer. 1983, served as District Judge, appointed by then-Governor

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He als ...

. From 1983 to 1984 he served as a Judge District Court Administrator, Mayagüez Judicial Region In 1993 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, an ...

hired him to be his Legal Advisor. He also served as Deputy Secretary of Justice. In 2000 he was appointed to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

by Governor Rosselló. He took the oath of office on July 13, 2000, after confirmation by the Senate. On June 2, 2010, he announced that he resigned his position, making the effective date of his resignation July 31, 2010. He was replaced by Appeals Court judge

Edgardo Rivera García Edgardo Rivera García (born January 3, 1955) is a Puerto Rican jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 2010 to 2025. He was nominated by Governor Luis Fortuño to succeed retired Justice Efraín River ...

. Two months later, Governor

Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013. Fortuño served as the first Secre ...

appointed him as a special monitor to oversee and make recommendations on the operations of the

Puerto Rico Police Department The Puerto Rico Police (PPR; , ), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (, ), is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a division of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety (PR DPS), ...

, after over 60 of its agents were arrested following an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

sting against police corruption.

Death

Efraín Rivera Pérez died on September 15, 2013, in a motorcycle accident in

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a Guaynabo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, east of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayam� ...

. He was 62 years old.

References

1951 births 2013 deaths Associate justices of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico Road incident deaths in Puerto Rico Motorcycle road incident deaths People from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-bio-stub