Anabelle Rodriguez
Anabelle Rodríguez Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican lawyer, former state Attorney General, and current Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. She is considered one of the leading liberal voices in the Court.Early life and education
Rodríguez was born in 1950 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and obtained a bachelor's degree in History, magna cum laude, from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. In 1985, she obtained a juris doctor magna cum laude, from the same university.Career
Rodriguez held various positions in the Puerto Rican private and government sector. She began her career in law as Law Clerk to Superior Court Judge Angel G. Hermida. In 1997 she was nominated by Bill Clinton to be U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Puerto Rico, but her nomination was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee three times.
In 2001, she was appointed Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico by Governor Sila Calderón. She worked to extend domestic violence protections to homosexual couples on the island. In 2004, Calderon appointed Rodriguez to the Supreme Court. She officially took office on August 19, 2004 becoming the third woman ever to serve in the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. In February 2016, she was acting Chief Justice of the Court prior to the swearing in of Maite Oronoz Rodríguez.
