Juan Ramon Sanchez


Juan Ramon Sanchez is the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Education and career

Born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Sanchez received a Bachelor of Arts degree from City College of New York in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1981. He was a Staff attorney of Legal Aid of Chester County, Pennsylvania, from 1981 to 1983. He was in private practice in West Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1983 to 1984, and was then an attorney for the County of Chester Public Defender's Office from 1984 to 1997. He was a judge on the Court of Common Pleas for Chester County from 1998 to 2004.

Federal judicial service

On November 25, 2003, Sanchez was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Jay Waldman. Sanchez was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 23, 2004, and received his commission on June 24, 2004.
On August 1, 2018, Sanchez became the first Latino chief judge of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, due to the announced retirement of Lawrence F. Stengel.