Above: Federal District Court in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The United States Senate has confirmed Pedro Delgado-Hernandez as the new federal judge for the District of Puerto Rico.

Delgado-Hernandez, who was confirmed by a 98-0 vote, is a former solicitor general of Puerto Rico and a former Judge on the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals. He succeeds former Judge Daniel Dominguez, following the latter’s retirement in 2011.

“I am pleased that Pedro Delgado-Hernández has been confirmed as a federal district court judge,” Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi said in a statement. “I am confident that Judge Delgado-Hernández will work tirelessly to dispense justice, based on the facts of the case at hand, and free from any prejudice.”

Delgado-Hernandez is the 19th person to have been confirmed as a District Court Judge in Puerto Rico since 1966, when the District of Puerto Rico was made equivalent to other US district courts. He was nominated for the position last year.

“Now we have another distinguished Puerto Rican jurist on the federal bench,” Pierluisi said.