Juan Pérez-Giménez

Juan Pérez-Giménez
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
In office 1984–1991
Preceded by	Juan Torruella
Succeeded by	Gilberto Gierbolini-Ortiz
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
In office December 6, 1979 – March 28, 2006
Appointed by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Francisco Besosa
Personal details
Born	March 28, 1941 San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras George Washington University

Juan Manuel Pérez-Giménez (born 1941) is a United States federal judge in senior status.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pérez-Giménez received a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in 1963, an M.B.A. from George Washington University in 1965, and an LL.B. from the University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1968. He was in private practice San Juan, Puerto Rico from 1968–71, and was then an assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico from 1971-75. He was a U.S. Magistrate Judge on the District of Puerto Rico from 1975-79.

On October 23, 1979, Pérez-Giménez was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 5, 1979, and received his commission the following day. He served as chief judge from 1984–91, and assumed senior status on March 28, 2006.

On October 21, 2014, Judge Pérez-Giménez upheld Puerto Rico's ban on same-sex marriage, but the 1st Circuit sent the case back to the trial court after the Supreme Court’s June 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges striking down marriage bans nationwide. The appeals court ordered Pérez-Giménez to “further consider” the matter “in light of Obergefell,” adding that the appeals court judges “agree with the parties…that the ban is unconstitutional.” Nonetheless, in March 2016, Pérez-Giménez upheld the ban for a second time, ruling that the Supreme Court’s ruling does not apply to a territory like Puerto Rico. On April 7, 2016, the Court of Appeals overturned Pérez-Giménez' ruling, stating that it "errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin." The case was assigned to a different judge for final disposition.

Sources

• Juan Pérez-Giménez at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.