José Severo Quiñones
Encyclopedia
José Severo Quiñones was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
on November 6, 1838, he began his formal studies in Puerto Rico
before continuing the study of law at Seville University and Madrid Central University in Spain. After obtaining his law degree in 1860, he was admitted to the bar in Puerto Rico two years later. Between 1871 and 1898 he held several important positions in Puerto Rico's colonial administration, including acting Treasury Minister. During Puerto Rico's first and only autonomic government under Spain in 1898, Quiñones served as Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry. While that post was short-lived due to the arrival of United States troops on July 25, 1898, General John R. Brooke
appointed him president of the Territorial Audience, Puerto Rico's highest court.
Once civil rule was established in Puerto Rico, President William McKinley
appointed Quiñones as the new Supreme Court's Chief Justice, a post held until his death, on his birthday, in 1909.
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is the highest court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority within Puerto Rico to interpret and decide questions of Commonwealth law. As the highest body of the judicial branch of the Puerto Rican government, it is analogous to one of the...
.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
on November 6, 1838, he began his formal studies in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
before continuing the study of law at Seville University and Madrid Central University in Spain. After obtaining his law degree in 1860, he was admitted to the bar in Puerto Rico two years later. Between 1871 and 1898 he held several important positions in Puerto Rico's colonial administration, including acting Treasury Minister. During Puerto Rico's first and only autonomic government under Spain in 1898, Quiñones served as Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry. While that post was short-lived due to the arrival of United States troops on July 25, 1898, General John R. Brooke
John R. Brooke
John Rutter Brooke was a major general in the United States Army during both the American Civil War and the Spanish American War...
appointed him president of the Territorial Audience, Puerto Rico's highest court.
Once civil rule was established in Puerto Rico, President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
appointed Quiñones as the new Supreme Court's Chief Justice, a post held until his death, on his birthday, in 1909.
Sources
- La Justicia en sus Manos, by Luis Rafael Rivera, 2007, ISBN 1-57581-884-1