Julio Manuel Fuentes (born February 16, 1946) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...

. Fuentes is the first Hispanic judge to serve on the Third Circuit.

Early life and education

Fuentes was born on February 16, 1946, in

Humacao, Puerto Rico Humacao () is a Humacao barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Yabucoa; south of Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Naguabo; east of Las Pi ...

; he moved with his family from Puerto Rico to New York in 1950, according to a May 16, 2000, article in the Newark

Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

. Fuentes' family settled in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

area of

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in 1955. Fuentes grew up in

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a Township (New Jersey), township and coastal town located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its mainland United States, mainland portion is also a census-designated ...

and graduated from Toms River High School (now Toms River High School South) in 1964, where he played football and wrestled. Fuentes earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1971 from

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

. His time at SIU was interrupted by a stint in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, from 1966 through 1969. After completing the

United States Army Airborne School The United States Army Airborne School—widely known as Jump School—conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry Regiment ( ...

Ranger School The Ranger School is a 62-day United States Army small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training w ...

and the Army Officer Candidate School in

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Fuentes served with the

8th Special Forces Group The 8th Special Forces Group of the United States Army was established in 1963 at Fort Gulick, Panama Canal Zone. The primary mission of the 8th Special Forces Group (Airborne) SFG (A)was counter-insurgency training for the armies of Lati ...

in Fort Gulick,

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. He was honorably discharged with the rank of First Lieutenant. Fuentes also earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in Latin American Studies from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1972. He then earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1975, and another

degree in Liberal Studies from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in 1993. In 2006, he was inducted into the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stil ...

, in Stillwater,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Career

Fuentes worked as a lawyer in private practice from 1975 until 1981 and worked as a judge in the Newark Municipal Court from 1979 until 1987. He then served as a judge in

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts: under Article Six of the State Consti ...

in Essex County from 1987 until being confirmed to the Third Circuit in 2000.

Federal judicial service

Fuentes' name originally had been put forth for a District Court opening by then-Senator

Robert Torricelli Robert Guy Torricelli (born August 27, 1951) is an American attorney and former politician. A Democrat, Torricelli served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 9th district from 1983 to 1997 and as a United States ...

of New Jersey. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's staff interviewed Fuentes and instead opted to bring forth Fuentes' name as a nominee at the court of appeals level. Clinton nominated Fuentes to the

seat on March 8, 1999. The United States Senate Judiciary Committee approved Fuentes' nomination on March 2, 2000, and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

confirmed Fuentes by a 93–0 vote on March 7, 2000. Fuentes received his commission on March 9, 2000, and was sworn in on May 15, 2000. "I intend to honor this trust every day," Fuentes told a standing ovation as he was sworn in, according to a May 16, 2000, article in the Newark Star-Ledger. He assumed senior status on July 18, 2016.

Personal life

During high school, Fuentes worked as a supermarket stock clerk and lifeguard, and "ha vague memories of having a paper route." In 2002, he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University at Buffalo School of Law. Fuentes resides in

, where he maintains chambers in Newark.

Notable former clerks

*Aditi Bagchi, professor of law at

Fordham University Law School Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

. * Mark Colón, nominee for the position of assistant secretary for community planning and development. *Jennifer Pacella, assistant professor in the business law and ethics at the

Kelley School of Business The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school for Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana University Indianapolis. As of 2022, approximately 13,538 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are enr ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. * Myrna Pérez, judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

. *Eric Ruben, assistant professor of law at SMU

Dedman School of Law SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law, is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. Jason P. Nance serves as its current dean. Founded in February 1925, the school located is on the Southern Meth ...

. *Kerri L. Stone, associate professor at FIU College of Law. * Jennifer P. Wilson, judge of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuentes, Julio M. 1946 births Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Living people Members of the United States Army Special Forces New Jersey state court judges New York University alumni People from Humacao, Puerto Rico People from North Caldwell, New Jersey People from Toms River, New Jersey Puerto Rican judges Southern Illinois University alumni Superior court judges in the United States Toms River High School South alumni United States Army officers United States Army Rangers United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton University at Buffalo Law School alumni 20th-century New Jersey state court judges 21st-century American judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers