José A. Cabranes was appointed a Judge of the Unites States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1994. He served as a United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut for fifteen years and was serving as Chief Judge of that court when he was appointed to the Court of Appeals.
Cabranes was a Kellett Research Fellow of Columbia College at the University of Cambridge (Queens' College, 1965-1967). He practiced law in New York City, taught on the full-time faculty of law of Rutgers University and served as Special Counsel to the Governor of Puerto Rico and head of the Commonwealth's Washington office, before moving to New Haven as General Counsel of Yale University in 1975.
He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, of which he later served as Chairman, and he served also as Chairman of a second leading Hispanic organization, Aspira of New York, the Hispanic community organization that helps inn er-city youth advance through education.
From 1987 to 1999 he served as a trustee of Yale University (Fellow of the Yale Corporation). Cabranes has served also as a trustee of Colgate University and of the Yale-New Haven Hospital.
He is the author of Citizenship and the American Empire (Yale University Press, 1979), a legislative history of the American citizenship of the people of Puerto Rico, and with Kate Stith, Fear of Judging: Sentencing Guidelines in the Federal Courts (University of Chicago Press, 1998)(Certificate of Merit, ABA) and articles in law journals.
AALS President Michael A. Olivas extended the speaking invitation to him, particularly with the Annual Meeting theme of Academic Freedom and Academic Duty. He noted, “I asked Judge Cabranes to speak, particularly given his longstanding involvement in law teaching, his serving as Yale’s General Counsel, and his experience as a college trustee. He is an exceptional scholar, and he brings extensive experience to us at this important time in legal education.”
Advance ticket purchase is necessary. Price is $65.