José Alberto Cabranes (born December 22, 1940) is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a former presiding judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review ("FISCR"). Formerly a practicing lawyer, government official, and law teacher, he was the first Puerto Rican appointed to a federal judgeship in the continental United States (1979).
José Alberto Cabranes
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
Born 1940 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
FJC ID: 344
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 41/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 2,258/year
Connecticut District Court · 1979–1994Connecticut District Court · 1979–1994Second Circuit Court of Appeals · 1994–
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- Hispanic
Prior employment
Board member · 1986–1990
General counsel/director of government relations · 1975–1979- Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C.Special counsel · 1973–1975
- Rutgers University School of LawAssociate professor of law · 1971–1973
- Private practice, New York City1967–1971
- Queens' College, University of Cambridge, EnglandSupervisor in law · 1966–1967
Appointments
1994–2023 · Appointed by William J. Clinton (Democratic)
1979–1994 · Appointed by Jimmy Carter (Democratic)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- University of Cambridge, Queens' CollegeM.Litt. · 1967
- J.D. · 1965
- Columbia UniversityA.B. · 1961