History of the Supreme Court
On June 19, 1831, the royal decree of King Ferdinand VII, the first appellate court with jurisdiction over the entire territory of Puerto Rico was established, for which reason it was called the Audiencia Territorial or Territorial Court.
The Real Audiencia, or Royal Court, was officially established on July 23, 1832, in an old manor house on what was then Allen Street (now known as Calle de la Fortaleza) in San Juan.
Some of the functions of this Real Audiencia included “examining the applicants to the bar, notaries—who attest and authorize public deeds and other acts—and solicitors; resolving questions of jurisdiction concerning the different insular courts; passing on petitions for protection brought by the Church; decide appeals from the cases of all lower courts in the island; decide matters concerning actions taken by governors on behalf of those who consider themselves the wronged party; decide causes concerning offenses against the governor and other public officials related with the discharge of judicial functions.”
The Real Audiencia served with only one Court of Justice until 1854, when a second court was created to pass on matters of general application or to act as advisor to the governor.
The Real Audiencia was composed of “an ex-officio president; the governor, who acted in such capacity until 1861; a regente [chief judge]; four oidores [ordinary judges], one of whom was the Auditor of War and His Majesty’s Prosecutor.” The First Audiencia was constituted by Governor Miguel de la Torre, sitting as ex-officio president; Francisco de Paula Vilches, regente in charge of overseeing the work of the court; and the following judges:
- José Ramón Oses – Oidor Decano or Senior Judge
- José Ramón Mendiola – Second Oidor
- Jaime María de Salas – Third Oidor
- Antonio de Benavides – Prosecutor for civil, criminal, and tax affairs
During its 66 years of existence, the composition of the court changed several times. One of the most notable changes occurred in 1855 when the Prosecutorial Department was separated from the Real Audiencia, and in 1861, when the governor was excluded from presiding over the latter.
Supreme Court (1898 – 1952)
Following the change of sovereignty in 1898, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico was established, thus replacing the Real Audiencia, by the order of Major General John R. Brooke, Commander of the Department of Puerto Rico.
The order’s first section provided that, “The full bench of the supreme court of justice, consisting of seven magistrates, including the president, shall hear all the appeals pending decision, as well as those that may hereafter be established and are authorized by the laws of civil and criminal procedure, which, under the Spanish regime, devolved upon the supreme court of Madrid, whose jurisdiction regarding this island ceased by virtue of the peace protocol.”
In 1899, General George W. Davis established the Court with the following seven justices: José Severo Quiñones as chief justice, and associate justices José Conrado Hernández, Juan Morera Martínez, José de Diego, José María Figueras, Rafael Nieto Abeillé, and Luis de Ealo y Domínguez.
Although he was sworn into office, José de Diego never served on this court because the very next day Major General Brooke named him president of the criminal court (Audiencia de lo Criminal) in Mayagüez, which position took effect immediately.
The island’s civil government was established the following year, on May 1, 1900, with the following justices on the Supreme Court:
- José Severo Quiñones – Chief Justice
- José Conrado Hernández – Associate Justice
- José María Figueras – Associate Justice
- Rafael Nieto Abeillé – Associate Justice (subsequently resigning)
- Louis Sulzbacher – Associate Justice (subsequently resigning)
The latter two were replaced by James Harvey McLeary and Adolf Grant Wolf, respectively.
From then until 1952, the Supreme Court was composed of one chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the president of the United States.
Supreme Court (1952)
In 1952, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Judiciary Act established the General Court of Justice, a unified judicial system whose power resides in the Supreme Court.
Under the new system, the General Court of Justice was composed of the Supreme Court, as the court of last resort, and the Court of First Instance, consisting of the Superior Court and the District Court.
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico provided that the Supreme Court would be composed of a chief justice and four associate justices, which number could subsequently be changed by law, but only at the request of the Supreme Court itself. In 1961, the number of associate justices was increased to eight and in 1975 was reduced to seven. In 2010, it was increased to nine.
The Supreme Court is currently composed of one chief justice and eight associate justices.