Honoring Judge Juan R. Torruella
BU School of Law remembers Hon. Juan Torruella ('57) of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Photo by Cydney Scott
Honoring Judge Juan R. Torruella
During his 36-year tenure on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Judge Torruella weighed in on legal matters ranging from Puerto Rican statehood to libel laws and abortion rights.
Judge Juan R. Torruella (’57), who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for more than 30 years, passed away on Monday, October 26, 2020. He is survived by his wife, Judith, their four children, and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
During his 36-year tenure on the First Circuit, Judge Torruella weighed in on legal matters ranging from Puerto Rican statehood to libel laws and abortion rights. He joined the unanimous panel that struck down the section of the Defense of Marriage Act that barred gay couples from receiving federal benefits, and last summer he joined the opinion that vacated the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted in 2015 for his part in the Boston Marathon Bombing.
Judge Torruella served on the First Circuit alongside other notable BU Law alums, Hon. Sandra Lynch (’71) and Hon. O. Rogeriee Thompson (’76). A great supporter of the school, he volunteered as a guest judge for the moot court program and mentored many BU Law students and alumni who served as judicial interns and clerks.
Anuj Khetarpal (’10), who clerked for Judge Torruella from 2017 to 2018 and rejoined his team in 2019 to help with a case before the court, remembers him as a man of great warmth and commitment to justice.
“The cases that come before the First Circuit vary greatly,” Khetarpal says. “I worked on criminal cases and IP litigation matters and maritime cases—and I think that was a particular love of his because he was a sailor—but what really stood out about him was his unwavering sense of justice. No matter how unpopular an opinion may be, he would never be willing to compromise on something that he felt was necessary to advance justice.”
Now a litigation associate with Verrill Dana and former assistant attorney general in the white-collar division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, Khetarpal says that working with Judge Torruella was integral not only in helping him transition from criminal law into civil practice, but in modeling a full life dedicated to justice and to his family and personal pursuits.
… What really stood out about him was his unwavering sense of justice. No matter how unpopular an opinion may be, he would never be willing to compromise on something that he felt was necessary to advance justice.
“He cared deeply about the law,” Khetarpal says. “But he also cared deeply about making sure that he had a fulfilling life. He put aside time for his large family; he was a painter, duck hunter, and a former Olympic sailor. It was important to him not to give up your sense of self as well as your commitment to your work.”
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1933, Judge Torruella (’57) studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School before joining Boston University School of Law. A lifelong student, he would go on to earn an LLM from the University of Virginia School of Law, a MS in Public Administration from the University of Puerto Rico, and a MS in European history from Magdalen College, Oxford University.
Following his graduation from BU Law in 1957, Torruella clerked for Associate Justice Pedro Pimentel of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and then took a position with the National Labor Relations Board. After three years with the agency he joined a law firm and remained in private practice—both in firm settings and as a solo practitioner—for the next 15 years.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford nominated Torruella to the US District Court for Puerto Rico. He served as chief judge from 1982 to 1984, when President Ronald Reagan elevated him to the First Circuit, making him the first Puerto Rican to serve on the court of appeals, for which he served as chief judge from 1994 to 2001.
Judge Torruella (back, fourth from the left) is depicted on the mural outside McCausland Commons alongside other notable alumni of BU Law.
Judge Torruella with his wife, Judith, and grandson, Michael Torruella (CGS’13, CAS’15, LAW’18).
Judge Torruella (back, fourth from the left) is depicted on the mural outside McCausland Commons alongside other notable alumni of BU Law. His wife, Judith, and grandson, Michael Torruella (CGS’13, CAS’15, LAW’18), joined him for a photo in front of it in 2017.
His judicial decisions, articles, and books examined a broad range of topics, from the impact of the War on Drugs on the US criminal system to his fierce advocacy for Puerto Rican representation at the national level. In a 2019 interview with Bostonia, he remarked on the irony of his position as a judge, “deciding issues of national importance, yet not having any national political representation. I cannot vote for the president and vice president and have no voting representative in Congress simply because I am a resident of Puerto Rico. The bottom line is that US citizens who live in Puerto Rico have no political equality.”
A valued member of the BU Law community who helped shape the careers of many graduates, Judge Torruella was awarded a Silver Shingle for Service to the Profession in 1982. He welcomed two classes of BU Law graduates to the legal profession as Commencement speaker, impressing upon them the essential nature of legal work: “Lawyers are and will be necessary to stand between the less fortunate and the more fortunate, or as a shield against the occasional oppressive acts of government,” he said in his 2014 address. “It is lawyers in their various roles within our society that are critical to bringing social stability … You are all needed.”
“Judge Torruella’s impact on the law, and on the BU Law community, was beyond measure,” says Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig. “He was a good man whose warmth, generosity, and commitment to justice is unparalleled. His loss will be felt deeply.”
