Luis Estrella-Martínez (born November 17, 1971) is an associate justice of 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 ...

. Confirmed by the Senate on May 11, 2011, he took office on May 25, 2011, at the age of 39 and could serve for over 30 years until his mandatory retirement age of 70 on November 17, 2041.

Early years

A high school graduate of Academia Santa Teresita, an alma mater he shares with former 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 ...

and Governor Fortuño's

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Marcos Rodríguez Ema, he earned his ''Magna Cum Laude'' bachelor's degree at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

's main campus at

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

while working part-time as a data entry operator, bussing tables, as well as being active in student government, where he was elected as his faculty's representative to the General Student Council, where he served as Vice President. Estrella also graduated ''Magna Cum Laude'' from its law school, where he was an editor of the UPR Law Review, as well as a member of the campus' Academic Senate, representing the law school's students.

Professional life

After a stint as a law clerk to Puerto Rico Court of Appeals Judge Gilberto Gierbolini, where he met two appellate judges with whom he would subsequently serve on the Supreme Court, Justices

Liana Fiol Matta Liana Fiol Matta (born October 20, 1946) is a Puerto Rican jurist, who served as the 16th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Fiol was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and is the second woman in Puerto Rican history to serve in the ...

and Mildred Pabón, and as a legislative assistant to then Senator

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s N ...

and Representative Pedro Figueroa, he opened his own law office in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

, where he lives, where he specialized in

Administrative Law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

for over 10 years.

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Thomas Rivera Schatz Thomas Rivera Schatz (born June 10, 1966) is a Puerto Rican politician, legal advisor, attorney, and former prosecutor, who was the fourteenth, sixteenth and is currently the eighteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He is affiliated ...

shepherded his confirmation through a committee hearing and a floor vote on May 11, 2011. The New Progressive Party majority voted in his favor while the Popular Democratic Party senators voted against the nomination.

Private life

Estrella, an active marathon runner, is married to a fellow attorney, Maribel Ramos, with whom he has two daughters, all of whom live in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

Honors and recognitions

*Miguel Velázquez Debate Competition, UPR Law School, 1996, before a jury composed of Federal District Judge Daniel R. Domínguez, Justice Miriam Naveira, Appellate Judge Lady Alfonso de Cumpiano, Prof. Miguel Velázquez and then Representative, and future Governor,

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus ( LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of ...

. *Benicio Sánchez Castaño Award to the graduating law student with the highest Criminal Law average,

Puerto Rico Bar Association The Bar Association of Puerto Rico (BAPR) or ''Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico (CAPR)'' is the bar association of Puerto Rico. It is the oldest professional association in Puerto Rico, and among the oldest bar associations in the world. The ...

, 1996.

Publication

"Codificación de la Pena de Restitución en Puerto Rico", an article in the UPR Law Review, 1996

Sources

Statement by Luis F. Estrella Martínez, Associate Justice nominee, Judicial and Public Safety Committee,

, May 11, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Luis Estrella 1971 births Living people Associate justices of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican judges University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus alumni