Anabelle Rodriguez

Anabelle Rodríguez Rodríguez (born December 24, 1950) is a Puerto Rican lawyer, former state Attorney General, and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. In December 2020 she reached the age of 70, at which point the Puerto Rico Constitution mandated her retirement from the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.

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 University of Puerto Rico School of Law. She has two sons: Fernando Vela, a web developer based in Gainesville, Florida, and Ricardo Vela, a history teacher in White Plains, New York.

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. On December 10, 2020 judge Anabelle Rodríguez reached her mandatory retirement from the court at the age of 70.