Judge Raúl Arias-Marxuach is President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from Puerto Rico.
53 years old, Arias-Marxuach is currently a federal district judge in Puerto Rico. He is a graduate of Boston College and the University of Puerto Rico Law School, where he earned his J.D. magna cum laude. Arias-Marxuach also received his LL.M. from Harvard Law School.
Arias-Marxuach began his legal career as a law clerk to Associate Justice Antonio Negrón García of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. After earning his LLM, Arias-Marxuach returned to Puerto Rico and joined the law firm of Fiddler Gonzalez & Rodriguez. He later moved to McConnell Valdés LLC. At McConnell Valdés, Arias-Marxuach eventually became vice chair of the firm’s litigation group, and his practice focused on commercial litigation, including contracts, products liability, personal injury, antitrust, and maritime law. Before joining the federal bench, Arias-Marxuach was regularly recognized by Chambers & Partners for his dispute-resolution practice.
In April 2018, President Trump nominated Arias-Marxuach to the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The Senate confirmed Arias-Marxuach by a vote of 95–3 in May 2019.
If confirmed, Arias-Marxuach will be only the second Hispanic judge to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.