Juan Ramon Sánchez (born December 22, 1955) is 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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Philad ...

. He served as the chief judge of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 2018 to 2024.

Education and career

Born in

Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Vega Baja () is a Vega Baja barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located on the coast of north central Puerto Rico. It is north of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Morovis, east of Manatí, Puerto Rico, Manatí, and west of V ...

, Sánchez received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

in 1978 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

in 1981. He was a Staff attorney of

Legal Aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially referred to as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in ...

, from 1981 to 1983. He was in private practice in West Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1983 to 1984, and was then an attorney for the County of Chester

Public Defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

's Office from 1984 to 1997. He was a judge on the Chester County Court of Common Pleas from 1998 to 2004.

Federal judicial service

On November 25, 2003, Sánchez was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Jay Waldman. Sánchez was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 23, 2004, and received his commission on June 24, 2004. On August 1, 2018, Sánchez became the first Latino chief judge of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, due to the announced retirement of Lawrence F. Stengel. Sánchez resigned from that position on March 4, 2024. In February 2019, Sanchez found that the

University of the Sciences University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (University of the Sciences or USciences), previously Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (PCPS), was a private university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On June 1, 2022, it officially merge ...

had not breached its contractual promise of a fair process when it expelled a student accused of

campus sexual assault Campus sexual assault is the sexual assault, including rape, of a student while attending an institution of higher learning, such as a college or university. The victims of such assaults are more likely to be female, but any gender can be victim ...

without providing a live hearing or an opportunity to cross examine witnesses. His judgment was then reversed by the unanimous

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...

in May 2020.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sánchez, Juan Ramon 1955 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Pennsylvania state court judges 21st-century American lawyers Hispanic and Latino American judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers People from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Public defenders United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni

Education and career

Federal judicial service

See also

References

External links