A group of visiting judges from several Latin American countries visited the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico last week as part of the Judicial Studies Institute (JSI) Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice through its Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT).
Judges hailing from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru met with Chief Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí, while also observing and discussing status conferences and sentencing procedures during their visit to the José Toledo United States Courthouse in Old San Juan.
Over the years, United States district judges and magistrate judges have participated in JSI Programs with judges from Central and South America. These judges have thus been able to acquire first‐hand knowledge of live civil and criminal proceedings, and meet privately with judges and court staff.