Camille Vélez-Rivé

District of Puerto Rico
	First Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 7
	Judges: 7
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Raúl Arias-Marxuach
	Active judges: María Antongiorgi-Jordán, Raúl Arias-Marxuach, Silvia Carreno-Coll, Pedro A. Delgado Hernandez, Aida Delgado-Colon, Gina Méndez-Miró, Camille Vélez-Rivé; Senior judges:; Francisco Besosa, Daniel Dominguez, Jay Garcia-Gregory

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Camille Vélez-Rivé
	Court: United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
Progress
	Confirmed 168 days after nomination.
	Nominated: June 15, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: July 13, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: August 4, 2022
	Confirmed: November 30, 2022
	Vote: 55 - 42

Camille Vélez-Rivé is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on June 15, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on November 30, 2022, by a vote of 55-42.^[1] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to her confirmation, Vélez-Rivé was a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.^[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On June 15, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Vélez-Rivé to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He officially nominated Vélez-Rivé the same day.^[2] She was confirmed by a 55 - 42 vote of the U.S. Senate on November 30, 2022.^[1] Vélez-Rivé received commission on December 9, 2022.^[3]

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Camille Vélez-Rivé on November 30, 2022, on a vote of 55-42.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Camille Vélez-Rivé confirmation vote (November 30, 2022)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	6	42	2
Independent	2	0	0
Total	55	42	3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Vélez-Rivé's nomination on July 13, 2022. The committee voted to advance Vélez-Rivé's nomination to the full Senate on August 4, 2022.^[1]

Nomination

On June 15, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Vélez-Rivé to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.^[1]

Vélez-Rivé was nominated to replace Judge Francisco Besosa, who assumed senior status on January 1, 2022.^[1]

The American Bar Association rated Vélez-Rivé well qualified.^[4] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Washington University in St. Louis, B.A., 1989
University of Puerto Rico School of Law, J.D., 1993^[3]

Professional career

2022-present: Judge, District of Puerto Rico
2004-2022: Federal magistrate judge, District of Puerto Rico
1998-2004: Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Puerto Rico
1994-1997: Private practice, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1993-1994: Law clerk, Hon. Francisco Rebollo-López, Supreme Court of Puerto Rico^[3]

About the court

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit based in downtown Boston at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse, but hears appeals at the Old San Juan courthouse for two sessions each year.

The District of Puerto Rico has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The jurisdiction of the District of Puerto Rico consists of all the municipalities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is based in San Juan, with the main building being the Clemente Ruiz Nazario U.S. Courthouse located in the Hato Rey district of San Juan.

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

Suggest a link

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Francisco Besosa	United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico 2022-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico 2004-2022	Succeeded by -

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