Héctor Martínez Muñoz

Héctor Martínez Muñoz was the first member of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico appointed by Governor Luis A. Ferré and confirmed by an opposition-controlled Senate of Puerto Rico presided by Rafael Hernández Colón.

Born on December 14, 1924 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Martínez obtained a B.A. from Virginia State University and a law degree in 1951 from the University of Puerto Rico. During twenty years he practiced law in the private sector but served "ad honorem" on the State Board of Education, as a Bar examiner and on the Legislative Committee of the Puerto Rico Bar Association.

In 1971, Gov. Ferré, after withdrawing two nominations that the opposition-led Senate was going to reject, appointed Martínez as Associate Justice. Negotiations with the Senate led to his confirmation, assuming his post on the bench on June 12, 1971. After Luis Negrón Fernández resigned on September 15, 1972 after a second stint as Chief Justice, Ferré nominated Martínez for Chief Justice but the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico majority in the Senate rejected his elevation to the court's top post. Less than a year later, Martínez resigned from the bench and returned to provate practice.

In the late 1970s, Governor Carlos Romero Barceló appointed him to several "ad honorem" posts, including the Governor's Judicial Nominations Advisory Committee and the Puerto Rico Council on Higher Education.

Justice Héctor Martínez Muñoz passed away in San Juan on November 14, 1991, at the age of 66.

Sources

*La Justicia en sus Manos by Luis Rafael Rivera, ISBN 1-57581-884-1