Gustavo Gelpí

First Circuit
	Court of Appeals
Judgeships
	Posts: 6
	Judges: 6
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief:
	Active judges: Seth Aframe, David Barron, Gustavo Gelpí, William Kayatta, Lara Montecalvo, Julie Rikelman; Senior judges:; Levin Hicks Campbell, Jeffrey R. Howard, Kermit Lipez, Sandra Lea Lynch, Bruce Marshall Selya, Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Gustavo Gelpí
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 159 days after nomination.
	Nominated: May 12, 2021
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: June 23, 2021
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: July 22, 2021
	Confirmed: October 18, 2021
	Vote: 52-41

Gustavo Gelpí is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on May 12, 2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 18, 2021, by a vote of 52-41.^[1]^[2]^[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Gelpí was a federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He joined the court in 2006 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R). He served as the chief judge of the court from 2018 to 2021. At the time of his appointment, he was a magistrate judge for the district. ^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit (2021-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Gelpí to the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. He was confirmed by a 52-41 vote of the U.S. Senate on October 18, 2021. Gelpí received commission on October 19, 2021.^[1]^[2]^[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Gustavo Gelpí by a vote of 52-41 on October 18, 2021.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Gelpí confirmation vote (October 18, 2021)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	2
Republican	4	41	5
Independent	2	0	0
Total	52	41	7

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Gelpí's nomination on June 23, 2021. The committee voted to advance Gelpí's nomination to the full Senate on July 22, 2021.

Nomination

On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Gelpí to the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. The president officially nominated Gelpí on the same day.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Gelpí was nominated to replace Judge Juan Torruella, whose judicial service ended on October 26, 2020, upon his death.^[2]

The American Bar Association rated Gelpí Well Qualified.^[5] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

District of Puerto Rico (2006-2021)

On the recommendation of the Puerto Rican at-large Congressional delegation, Gelpí was nominated by George W. Bush (R) on April 24, 2006, to a seat vacated by Judge Hector Laffitte as Laffitte assumed senior status. Gelpí was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 20, 2006, on unanimous consent of the Senate and received commission on August 1, 2006. Gelpí served as chief judge of the court from 2018 to 2021.^[4]

District of Puerto Rico, magistrate (2001-2006)

Gelpí began his judicial career as a federal magistrate judge for the District of Puerto Rico. Gelpí was appointed to an eight-year term in 2001 and served in that role until his nomination to an Article III judgeship in 2006.^[4]

Biography

Education

Gelpí graduated from Brandeis University with his bachelor's degree in 1987 and later graduated from Suffolk University Law School with his J.D. in 1991.^[4]

Professional career

2001: Special litigation counsel for McConnell Valdes
1999-2000: Solicitor general, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
1997-1999: Deputy attorney general, Office of Legal Counsel, Puerto Rico Department of Justice
1997: Assistant to the attorney general, District of Puerto Rico
1993-1997: Assistant federal public defender, District of Puerto Rico
1991-1993: Law clerk for Judge Juan Perez-Gimenez^[4]

About the court

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Appeals are heard in the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. There is another circuit courthouse located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the court sits for two weeks a year.

Two judges of the First Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Stephen Breyer was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1994 by Bill Clinton (D), and David Souter was appointed in 1990 by George H. W. Bush (R).

The First Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases may be civil or criminal in nature that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the First Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Stephen Breyer is the circuit justice for the First Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit has jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts:

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit 2021-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico 2006-2021	Succeeded by María Antongiorgi-Jordán