Jose Cabranes

José Alberto Cabranes is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. He joined the court in 1994 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton (D). At the time of his appointment, he was serving on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut after an appointment from President Jimmy Carter (D) in 1979.^[1] He assumed senior status on March 9, 2023.^[1]

On October 7, 2021, Cabranes announced that he would assume senior status upon the confirmation of his successor.^[2][3]

Biography

Education

Cabranes was born in 1940 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and at the age of five moved with his family to the South Bronx, New York. After attending public schools in New York City, Cabranes graduated from Columbia University with his bachelor's degree in 1961. He obtained his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1965. Cabranes graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Master of Letters in International Law in 1967.^[1]

Professional career

Cabranes was in private practice from 1967 to 1971. From 1971 to 1973, Cabranes served as an associate professor at Rutgers Law School before serving two years as general counsel to the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1975. From 1975 to 1979, Cabranes served as general counsel and director of government relations at Yale University.^[1]

Judicial career

2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Jose A. Cabranes
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 77 days after nomination.
Nominated: May 24, 1994
ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
Hearing: July 21, 1994
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
Reported: August 4, 1994
Confirmed: August 9, 1994
Vote: Voice vote

Cabranes was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit by President Bill Clinton on May 24, 1994, to a seat vacated by Richard Cardamone. The American Bar Association rated Cabranes Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.^[4] Hearings on Cabranes' nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on July 21, 1994, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on August 4, 1994. Cabranes was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on August 9, 1994, and he received his commission on August 10, 1994.^[1][5] Cabranes assumed senior status on March 9, 2023.^[1]

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review

In 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Cabranes to a seat on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. This panel of three judges hears appeals from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). His term on the panel expires in 2020.^[6] The other two judges on the panel are Richard Tallman and William Bryson.

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

Cabranes was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut by President Jimmy Carter on November 6, 1979, to a seat vacated by Jon Newman upon Newman's elevation to the Second Circuit. Cabranes was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 5, 1979, on a Senate vote and he received his commission on December 10, 1979. Cabranes served as the chief judge of the District of Connecticut from 1992 to 1994. He resigned his seat on August 12, 1994, upon his elevation to the Second Circuit. Cabranes was succeeded in this position by Judge Janet Arterton.^[1]

Awards and associations

Awards

• Cabranes was the recipient of the Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence of the Federal Bar Council in 2000.^[7]

Associations

• In 1988, Judge Cabranes was one of five federal judges appointed by former Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist to the 15-member Federal Courts Study Committee created by Act of Congress. The purpose of the study committee was “to examine problems facing the Federal courts and develop a long-range plan for the future of the Federal judiciary.”^[7]
• Cabranes was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.^[7]
• Before his appointment to the federal bench, Judge Cabranes served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of two major Hispanic Civil Rights organizations, Aspira of New York, the educational agency that helps inner-city Hispanic youth prepare for college, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund in which Cabranes was a founding member of the pro-Puerto Rican organization.^[7]
• Judge Cabranes served as a trustee of Yale University from 1987 to 1999, and now serves as a trustee of Columbia University. Carbanes is also a former trustee of Colgate University.

Written Works

Cabranes is the author of "Citizenship and the American Empire," published by Yale University Press in 1979. The book is a legislative history of the United States citizenship of the people of Puerto Rico. He co-authored "Fear of Judging: Sentencing Guidelines in the Federal Courts," with Kate Stith, a book which was published by the University of Chicago Press in 1998. Cabranes also earned the Certificate of Merit of the American Bar Association in 1999 for his written works, and has had various articles in a wide variety of law journals.^[7]

Noteworthy cases

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• United States District Court for the District of Connecticut

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes