Leopoldo Urrutia

Eduardo Leopoldo Urrutia Anguita (1849 – 11 October 1936) was a Chilean lawyer, judge and academic who served twice as president of the Supreme Court, in 1898 and 1908.

Early life and education

Urrutia was born in Cauquenes in 1849, the son of military officer Basilio Urrutia and Teodorinda Anguita. He studied law at the University of Chile, where he presented his thesis on civil law, and was admitted to the bar on 28 June 1872.

Judicial career

Urrutia pursued an extensive career in the Chilean judiciary. He served as secretary of the Criminal Court of Valparaíso and of the Intendancy of Linares, and later held judicial positions in Linares, Santiago, Curicó, Cauquenes, San Fernando and Valparaíso.

He subsequently became a justice of the Court of Appeals of Santiago. In 1892, Urrutia was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of Chile.

In 1898, Urrutia became president of the Supreme Court for the first time, succeeding Máximo Flores. He held the presidency during the government of Federico Errázuriz Echaurren and was succeeded by Gabriel Palma Guzmán.

A decade later, in 1908, Urrutia served a second term as president of the Supreme Court, succeeding Carlos Varas Herrera. He held the presidency during the government of Pedro Montt and was again succeeded by Palma Guzmán.

Urrutia retired from the judiciary in 1911.

Academic career

Alongside his judicial career, Urrutia was an academic at the University of Chile. In 1888, he became professor of civil law at its Faculty of Law, a position he held until 1926. He later served as dean of the faculty from 1912 to 1914.

Urrutia died in Santiago on 11 October 1936.