of the Governor of Puerto Rico. Associate Justices Lower courts During much of the 20th century, the court system in Puerto Rico had consisted of Municipal Courts, District Courts, and the Supreme Court. Cases could be appealed from Municipal Courts to commonwealth District Courts. From the commonwealth District Courts cases were then appealed to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Supreme Court. Municipal and District courts have existed in Puerto Rico since at least the 19th century. When the United States invaded the island, it set to reorganize the judicial system. The U.S. military regime in Puerto Rico promulgated Order 118 of 1899, by which the system of Criminal Courts and Courts of First Instance and Investigation were replaced by five district courts in San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, Arecibo and Humacao. Appointments Appointments to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico have traditionally been a politicized and often controversial process. The Governor of Puerto Rico usually appoints someone who is affiliated with his own political party. For example, during his sixteen years as Governor, Luis Muñoz Marín appointed only one statehooder, Rafael Hernández Matos to the court, despite the fact that statehooders represented the largest political minority in Puerto Rico. During the four years of divided partisan control of government between 2005 and 2009, when the governorship was occupied by commonwealther Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and the Senate presidency was held by statehooder Kenneth McClintock, despite the 2005 retirement of Associate Justice Baltasar Corrada del Rio, the death of Associate Justice Jaime Fuster in 2007 and the 2008 retirement of Associate Justice Francisco Rebollo, no appointments were made. For over half a century, the Court has been dominated by justices affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party, until February 2009 when, due to the accumulation of unfilled vacancies, pro-statehood Governor Luis Fortuño was able to fill three vacancies. Added to one Justice already on the Court, appointed by another pro-statehood Governor, the justices appointed by statehooders became a majority in the Court. Four women have been appointed justices since 1952; one of them, Miriam Naveira, was Chief Justice for a period of one year. Only one Afro–Puerto Rican, Justice Erick Kolthoff, has served in the Court. He is also the Court's only Protestant. Liana Fiol Matta, appointed by Gov. Alejandro García Padilla, was the second woman to hold the post of Chief Justice, succeeding Federico Hernández Denton, who was appointed in 2004 by Governor