Judge Peter J. Messitte, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, is visiting Uruguay to meet with the country's key judges, legal advisors, students and journalists.

Dr. Messitte was nominated for appointment as a United States District Judge in 1993 by president Clinton. He was a member of the International Judicial Relations Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States between 1997 and 2003, where he chaired the Working Group for Latin America and the Caribbean. He has served as a consultant on judicial reform projects throughout Latin America and Africa, and most recently in Turkey.

"We are honored and grateful to have judge Messitte in Uruguay," remarked U.S. ambassador Frank E. Baxter during a meeting with Uruguayan officials and colleagues on Tuesday. "Judge Messitte has a strong interest in international law and enjoys working with judges, lawyers and law students from throughout Latin America on ideas and proposals that will make court systems more efficient and accessible to the people they serve. He has traveled extensively throughout this region, explaining U.S. law to foreign audiences and building partnerships between jurists and institutions throughout the Western Hemisphere. Having judge Messitte with us in Montevideo is one further example of the growing ties and friendship between Americans and Uruguayans, as well as the goal we all share of strengthening democracy in this region," Baxter said.