Chief Justice
Sworn in January 16, 2004

The Honorable Chief Justice Robert J. Torres, Jr., born and raised on Guam, was appointed by Governor Felix P. Camacho to serve as one of the three justices on the highest appellate court in Guam, the Supreme Court, on April 17, 2003. The 27th Guam Legislature unanimously confirmed his nomination on September 18, 2003. Chief Justice Torres was sworn in on January 16, 2004 as the 7th full time Justice in the history of the Supreme Court of Guam and was installed as Chief Justice on January 15, 2008.
                                                                             
Chief Justice Torres was awarded his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts and received his B.B.A. in Accounting (Magna Cum Laude; Beta Gamma Sigma; Beta Alpha Psi) from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana,
 
Since his appointment to the Supreme Court, his Honor has been deeply involved with issues of technology and automation in the judiciary.  He chairs the Judiciary’s technology subcommittee tasked with developing long range strategy for technology and automation in Guam’s judicial system in an effort to better serve the people of the island.  Through the expertise and vision of Chief Justice Torres, the judiciary advances in technology and automation has brought the courts of Guam into the 21st century.  He played a central role in instituting several projects that expanded the application of technology in the judiciary – including e-filing with the Supreme Court, employing wireless technology in the courtrooms, adopting ethical and use standards for computers in the Judicial Branch. effecting videoconferencing in initial appearances, and contemplating the design and acquisition of a modern case management system.

The Honorable Chief Justice Torres has authored landmark opinions in subjects such as attorney discipline and ethics, adverse possession, quantum meruit, holdover tenancy, easements, the gifting and sales of excess lands returned by the federal government to original landowners, the distribution of estate property and “Takings” jurisprudence.  He continues to work tirelessly for the judiciary, not only on his own caseload, but also while serving as the chairperson of the subcommittees that craft rules governing the practice of law and the procedures for attorney ethical violations on Guam including the Rules of Evidence, Rules of Civil Procedure and Superior Court of Guam Rules Revisions, Civil Jury Instructions, and Bar Admissions and Attorney Discipline. He also served on the Subcommittee on Judicial Ethics which formulated the Guam Rules for Judicial Disciplinary Enforcement.

Chief Justice Torres is a designated District Court Judge for the U.S District Court of Guam and serves as Justice Pro Tem. for the Supreme Court of Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.  He is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and Guam and has been admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Claims Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First and Ninth Circuits, U.S. District Court for the Districts of Massachusetts and Guam, the Supreme Court of Guam, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and the Superior Court of Guam.

Chief Justice Torres brought to the Supreme Court more than 17 years of experience as a seasoned legal practitioner in Boston, Massachusetts and Guam.  He represented taxpayers and tax exempt organizations in controversies before federal, state and territorial courts and before the Internal Revenue Service, the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Revenue.  He concentrated his practice in tax, corporate matters, trusts and estates, probate, business planning and commercial law, but his range of legal experience includes government and legal ethics, real estate, arbitration, civil and criminal litigation and appellate experience before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First and Ninth Circuits and the Guam Supreme Court.

Guam lawyers previously elected Chief Justice Torres as President of the Guam Bar Association for three consecutive terms.  He was instrumental in securing a shared seat for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas in the American Bar Association House of Delegates and served as their first Delegate to the ABA house. A member of the Guam Judicial Council from 1990 to 1996, Chief Justice Torres advocated for the establishment of the Guam Supreme Court and the automation of the Judiciary.   He was elected by his legal peers in the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit to be the Circuit Lawyer Representative Coordinating Committee Chairman and served on the Circuit Judicial Conference Executive Committee. As a Circuit Lawyer Representative and Chair, his Honor contributed to the adoption of rules on judicial ethics and misconduct.  He also presided over the United States Magistrate Judge’s Merit Selection Panel for the District of Guam.  He has been a speaker at numerous seminars and conferences including a Conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson, broadcast nationally on C-SPAN.   Chief Justice Torres was also invited to be a guest presenter on the Right to a Jury Trial and Judicial Independence & Selection at the Republic of Palau’s Second Constitutional Convention and has lectured on attorney and judicial ethics and discipline as well as other legal topics.