In 2019, Judge David Barron was in his chambers when someone walked in carrying a walking stick and donning a sea captain’s hat. That person was Judge Juan Torruella, the first Puerto Rican to sit on a federal appeals court.

“An appellate judge’s chambers, as you all know, rarely has any visitors, let alone anyone who walks in unannounced. And certainly none who looked for all the world like they are dressed for a day on the yacht,” Barron said during a memorial service for Torruella.