Clemente Ruiz Nazario

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Clemente Ruiz Nazario (November 23, 1896 – December 25, 1969) was a Puerto Rican judge who became the first Puerto Rican named to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Born in San Germán, Puerto Rico, he studied at the University of Puerto Rico, earning a teaching certificate and a law degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. He served as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve and led the Boy Scouts of America for the New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico region. In 1952, President Harry S. Truman appointed him to the federal bench, and he served from January 28, 1952, to December 1966. Ruiz Nazario helped establish a pattern of Puerto Rican judges on the federal bench; after his resignation, Hiram Rafael Cancio became Puerto Rico’s first lifetime (Article III) federal judge. He died on December 25, 1969, at age 73 and was buried in Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The Clemente Ruiz Nazario United States Courthouse in San Juan is named in his honor, located next to the Federico Degetau Federal Building.