Born in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pérez-Giménez received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puerto Rico in 1963, a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University in 1965, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 1968.
He was in private practice in San Juan from 1968 to 1971, and was then an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico from 1971 to 1975.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 5, 1979, and received his commission the following day.
[2] On October 21, 2014, Pérez-Giménez upheld Puerto Rico's ban on same-sex marriage, but the 1st Circuit sent the case back to the trial court after the Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges striking down marriage bans nationwide.
On April 7, 2016, the Court of Appeals overturned Pérez-Giménez' ruling in a caustic benchslap, stating that it "errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin."