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Governor Jenniffer González Colón has chosen Camille Rivera Pérez and Raúl Candelario López as the new associate justices for the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.
They will take over the positions vacated by Justice Edgardo Rivera García, who stepped down on January 3, and Justice Anabelle Rodríguez Rodríguez, who retired on December 18, 2020. Both justices retired upon turning 70, which is the maximum age allowed for service on the island’s highest court.
Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz expressed his support for the appointments and confirmed that confirmation hearings would occur promptly.
In the meantime, House Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez praised the governor for swiftly addressing the Supreme Court vacancies, indicating her dedication to urgent handling of significant island matters.
Independent Senator Eliezer Molina Pérez criticized the selection of Candelario López, labeling it as “completely incestuous.”
“It appears that Judge Candelario, whose brother was employed by [New Progressive Party Electoral Commissioner] Aníbal Vega Borges, is set to be nominated as associate justice of the Supreme Court,” Molina Pérez asserted during the Senate’s regular session on Thursday. “How can we advocate for democracy and combat corruption if politicians appoint those who will oversee their conduct? It is incestuous.”
He also announced plans for his office to release a document intended to convey “a strong message” against what he characterized as governmental inefficiency and the prioritization of political over social interests.
“Federal agencies must be held responsible for idly observing the destruction of our people,” the activist-turned-senator claimed. “This ends today.”
Rivera Pérez began her legal career as a legal officer in the Court of Appeals in 2002. Starting in 2005, she served in the island’s House of Representatives as a legal advisor to the Committee on Government, Federal and Veteran Affairs and eventually rose to executive director of the committee in 2006.
In March 2010, then-Governor Luis Fortuño appointed Rivera Pérez as a superior judge, assigning her to the Fajardo Judicial Region, where she led various chambers.
In July 2021, Rivera Pérez joined the Children’s Justice Act Multidisciplinary Committee within the Family Department. On February 24, 2022, she was appointed an appeals court judge.
Raised in Las Marías and educated in public schools, Rivera Pérez earned her law degree (Cum Laude) from Pontifical Catholic University, having previously graduated Cum Laude from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration focused on accounting.
Candelario López initiated his career in 1993 as a legal advisor in the House, contributing to legislative analysis and drafting. In 1995, he became an assistant attorney in the Department of Justice, a role he maintained for over ten years, representing both victims and defendants in court cases.
From 2006 to 2012, Candelario López served as an advisor in the Capitol Superintendency, overseeing legal and administrative functions. He was appointed as a superior judge of the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance in March 2019, nominated by then-Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares and ratified by the Senate under Rivera Schatz’s presidency.
Candelario López earned his Juris Doctor degree from Pontifical Catholic University in 1992 and holds a bachelor’s degree in arts and social sciences with a focus on political science and public administration from the same school.
The Supreme Court of the island comprises nine justices; currently, there are seven serving justices and two empty seats.
