Benjamin Cruz

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Benjamin "BJ" Cruz (born March 3, 1951) is an American judge and politician from Guam.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Childhood 1.2 Education 1.3 Working life 2 Other interests and achievements 3 Personal 4 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Childhood

Born on March 3, 1951 in Guam, he is the second child and only son of the Juan Quenga Cruz ("Tanaguan") and Antonia Cruz Franquez. His father, who had just been elected Commissioner (Mayor) of Piti, was killed in 1956 when Cruz was only 5 years old.

[edit] Education

In 1960, while on Guam, Cruz’s mother married Vicente Cruz Guerrero ("Tico") and then mother resettled the whole family in California in 1962. They returned to Guam intermittently where Cruz attended grade school at St. Francis School in Yona.

He went to St. John Bosco High School in California until 1968. His undergraduate Bachelor degree in Political Science and Economics was obtained in 1972 from the Claremont Men’s College, and his Juris Doctor in 1975 from Santa Clara University School of Law.

[edit] Working life

Upon graduation in 1975, Cruz returned to Guam to work as Consumer Counsel in the Attorney General’s Office.

After 4 months at the Attorney General’s office, Governor Ricardo J. Bordallo, who had just begun his first term in office with Lt. Governor Rudolph G. Sablan, Cruz was asked to serve as the Governor’s Legal Counsel, which he did to the end of Bordallo’s first term in January 1979.

Between Bordallo’s two gubernatorial terms, Cruz established a private practice and served as Minority Legal Counsel to the 15th and 16th Guam Legislatures. In 1983, Governor Bordallo was elected to his second term as Governor of Guam with Lt. Governor Edward D. Reyes. Bordallo appointed Cruz to head the Washington Liaison Office, where he served as Liaison to the White House, the Congress`, and the National Governors Association.

In 1984, Bordallo appointed Cruz to be a Judge of the Superior Court of Guam. At 33, Cruz would be one of the youngest attorneys ever appointed to be a Judge. His appointment was controversial and several leaders of local protestant churches testified against the confirmation, citing sexual preference as disqualifying Cruz from being a good judge. Despite these interventions, Cruz was confirmed by the legislature and began a 17-year career in the island judiciary.

Cruz spent the first 9 of his 17 years as a Superior Court Judge with the Family Court, where he was an advocate for establishing and improving services for juvenile offenders and troubled youth. His reputation as a fair and firm judge with compassion is well regarded by the legal community and social service providers^{[citation needed]}. As a Trial Court Judge, Cruz presided over the controversial lawsuit filed regarding the implementation of the Chamorro Land Trust Act. He issued the landmark decision ordering the Act’s implementation.

In 1997, Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez appointed Cruz to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam. He served as Associate Justice until 1999, when his colleagues elected him Chief Justice. Cruz served as Chief Justice from April 21, 1999 until August 31, 2001, when he retired from the judiciary.

Prior to his appointment as Superior Court Judge, Cruz held key positions in the Democratic Party of Guam. He served as Executive Director under Franklin J.A. Quitugua and was Guam National Committeeman in the Democratic National Committee. Cruz returned to politics after his retirement from the judiciary in 2002, to chair the successful campaign of Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo. Between 2003 and 2005, Cruz once again served as Democratic National Committeeman.

In 2003, Cruz was appointed by U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton to be one of five members of the Guam War Claims Review Commission, established by the Congress to report and make findings relative to compensation for the victims and survivors of the Japanese Occupation of Guam during World War II. The Federal Commission has issued a report to Congress recommending compensation. A bill is now pending in the Congress that, when passed, will finally compensate victims and survivors.

[edit] Other interests and achievements

Cruz served as Legal Counsel and incorporator for the Organization of People for Indigenous Rights (OPI-R) and the PARA-PADA Coalition that opposed the adoption of the Guam Constitution. He also was a co-founder of the Nuclear Free Micronesia Organization.

Cruz served as Secretary General, Vice President, and Treasurer of the Guam National Olympic Committee. Cruz was instrumental in organizing Guam’s petition for admission to the International Olympic Committee.

Cruz currently serves on the Board of Directors and a Past President of Sanctuary, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the island’s troubled youth and their families

Cruz is the current co-chairperson of the Manenggon Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization created to construct a permanent memorial to the victims and survivors of Guam’s World War II enemy occupation at the site of Manenggon Concentration Camp, on property deeded for such purpose by the late businessman Dwight Look. Cruz is a Chairman of the Board of Pa’a Taotao Tano (PTT), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection, promotion, and preservation of the Chamorro culture.

Cruz has also been involved with other organizations such as Beauty World Guam Ltd., The Guam Beautification Association, and the American Cancer Society, serving as President of the Guam Chapter in 1981.

[edit] Personal

In a magazine article published in 1995, Cruz came out into the open about his homosexuality^[1].

[edit] References

1. ^ newly appointed Guam supreme court justice Benjamin Cruz may be the nation's highest-ranking gay judge. The Advocate magazine (Nov 25, 1997).