Governor Jenniffer González submitted 17 nominations of judges and prosecutors to the Puerto Rico Senate on Thursday, November 5, including prosecutor Sonia Iris Martínez Ortiz as a Superior Court judge. The governor had already appointed Martínez Ortiz, former director of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division and Comptroller Affairs (DIPAC), to the same judicial post in June, and at that time Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz had asked her to withdraw the appointment, calling its timing imprudent.
This time he did not question Martínez Ortiz’s nomination itself, having previously called her trajectory honest and competent, but faulted the batch arriving less than two weeks before the end of the ordinary session as irresponsible and unfair to both nominees and the Senate. With 12 days left, nominees must gather documents, undergo field investigations and evaluations that he said would be practically impossible to complete.
He warned that those not confirmed would have only La Fortaleza to blame. Other nominations include Superior Court judge candidates Karen K. Morales Pérez and Vivian Durieux Rodríguez, a former judge named in December as legislative adviser at La Fortaleza; municipal judge Sarell M. Correa Velázquez; six lawyers as Auxiliary Prosecutor I; promotions to Auxiliary Prosecutor II for several Justice Department lawyers, including Ileana Andrea Santos Colom, who heads its Specialized Units, and Giovanna García Rosaly; Roxanne Rivera Carrión, head of the Economic Crimes Division, to Auxiliary Prosecutor III; and Zulmari Barceló Sosa and Kathianie Banchs Caraballo as Family Affairs Prosecutors.
Rivera Schatz said 14 prior nominations remain pending, some lacking documents and others lacking the votes to be confirmed, including Natural Resources secretary appointees to a board post. The Senate has until November 17 to act.