Barbara Lagoa | |
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Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
Assumed office December 6, 2019 | |
Appointed by | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Stanley Marcus |
Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida | |
In office January 9, 2019 – December 6, 2019 | |
Appointed by | Ron DeSantis |
Preceded by | R. Fred Lewis |
Succeeded by | John D. Couriel |
Chief Judge of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal | |
In office January 1, 2019 – January 8, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Leslie Rothenberg |
Succeeded by | Kevin Emas |
Judge of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal | |
In office June 2006 – January 9, 2019 | |
Appointed by | Jeb Bush |
Preceded by | David Levy |
Succeeded by | Monica Gordo |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Miami, Florida, U.S. | November 2, 1967
Spouse(s) | Paul Huck Jr. |
Children | 3[2] |
Education | Florida International University (BA) Columbia University (JD) |
Barbara Lagoa (born November 2, 1967)[1] is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to becoming a federal judge, she was the first Hispanic woman to be appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.[3][4]
Early life and education
Lagoa was born in Miami, Florida, in 1967.[1][5] Lagoa's parents were Cuban immigrants who fled Cuba following the Cuban Revolution and the assumption of power by Fidel Castro.[6] She grew up in the majority Cuban-American city of Hialeah, Florida.[7] She is bilingual in English and Spanish.[8]
Lagoa studied English literature at Florida International University, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts cum laude and Phi Kappa Phi membership. She then attended Columbia Law School, where she was an associate editor of the Columbia Law Review. She graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1992.[7]
Career
Early career
After law school, Lagoa entered private practice at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Lagoa returned to Miami in 1993 and worked at Miami law firms. From 1998 to 2003, Loa was an associate at Greenberg Traurig. In 2000, Lagoa was one of a dozen lawyers who mostly pro bono represented the Miami family of Elián González.[9] In 2003, Lagoa became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, working in the Civil, Major Crimes, and Appellate Sections.
Florida Supreme Court
Lagoa was appointed to the Third District Court of Appeal by Governor Jeb Bush in June 2006 and became Chief Judge on January 1, 2019.[10][11] On January 9, 2019, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis. She was the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban American woman to sit on the Florida Supreme Court.[12] In April 2019, Lagoa wrote for the unanimous court when it found that DeSantis had acted within his authority by suspending Sheriff Scott Israel for his response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.[13][14]
In November 2019, Lagoa participated in oral arguments concerning an advisory opinion on whether the governor could require felons whom voters had re-enfranchised through 2018 Florida Amendment 4 to pay fines before being allowed to vote.[15][16] Lagoa resigned her position when she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[17]
Federal judicial service
On September 12, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Lagoa to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[18] She was nominated to the seat being vacated by Judge Stanley Marcus.[19] On October 15, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[20] On October 16, 2019, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[21] On November 7, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 18–4 vote.[22] On November 19, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by an 80-15 vote,[23] and on November 20, it confirmed her nomination by an 80–15 vote.[24] She received her judicial commission on December 6, 2019.
In July 2020, Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote directly to Lagoa to urge her to recuse herself from a challenge to felon disenfranchisement in Florida because of her earlier participation in a related matter on the Florida Supreme Court.[15] Lagoa and her fellow Judge Robert Luck declined to recuse themselves: "An objective, disinterested lay person, knowing that we asked questions in a different proceeding (advisory vs. case-and-controversy), in a different court (Florida Supreme Court vs. federal court), with different issues (interpreting the state constitution vs. federal constitutional questions), and with different participants (“interested persons” vs. parties), would not reasonably entertain a significant doubt about our impartiality in this case."[25][26] In September 2020, Lagoa joined the majority when the en banc circuit by a 6-4 vote upheld the constitutionality of the law that the Florida legislature had passed, which required re-enfranchised felons to pay all financial obligations, including fines, fees, and restitution before being allowed to vote.[27] Lagoa joined Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr.'s majority opinion, joined Pryor's additional concurrence, and authored her own concurrence.[28][29]
Potential Supreme Court nomination
On September 9, 2020, Trump included Lagoa on a list of potential nominees to the United States Supreme Court.[30] After the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020, Lagoa was mentioned as one of several frontrunners to fill the vacancy created by Ginsburg's death.[31][32][33]
The Washington Post reported that colleagues, friends, and scholars who have followed Lagoa's career describe her as "quiet and collegial, with shrewd political instincts."[34] Her potential nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was supported by a broad cross-section of Florida Republicans. Lagoa and her husband have built up "years of goodwill... in Florida's legal and political circles."[34] Had she been successfully nominated, she would have been the first Supreme Court justice from Florida.
On September 26, 2020, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.[35]
Personal life
Lagoa is married to lawyer Paul C. Huck Jr., and her father-in-law is United States District Judge Paul Huck, a Bill Clinton appointee.[7] Lagoa and her husband have three daughters, including a set of twins.[34] Lagoa is a practicing Roman Catholic and cited Catholic education as instilling "an abiding faith in God that has grounded me and sustained me through the highs and lows of life."[36]
See also
- Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates
- List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists
- List of first women lawyers and judges in Florida
References
- ^ a b c "Application of Barbara Lagoa to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission" (PDF). Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- ^ Semones, Evan (September 19, 2020). "What you need to know about Barbara Lagoa". Politico.
- ^ Ovalle, David (January 9, 2019). "Miami's Barbara Lagoa is the next Florida Supreme Court justice". The Miami Herald.
- ^ "Federalist Society Contributor: Barbara Lagoa". fedsoc.org.
- ^ Voruganti, Harsh (November 15, 2019). "Justice Barbara Lagoa – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit". Vetting Room. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ Van Sickler, Michael (September 19, 2020). "Trump considering this Florida justice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg". Tampa Bay Times.
- ^ a b c "DeSantis Picks Female Cuban-American For State's High Court". wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu.
- ^ Kelley, Eileen (September 20, 2020). "Five things to know about Barbara Lagoa, rumored to be on Trump's short list for Supreme Court". Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ Chardry, Alfonso; Weaver, Jay (May 5, 2000). "Rival campaigns helping to pay for lawyers in Elian case". The Miami Herald – via Latin American Studies.
- ^ "Biography of Judge Barbara Lagoa". www.3dca.flcourts.org. Archived from the original on July 28, 2007.
- ^ "Justice Barbara Lagoa". floridasupremecourt.org. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- ^ Cole, Devan; de Vogue, Ariane; Polantz, Katelyn. "Meet Barbara Lagoa, one of Trump's top contenders for the Supreme Court". KCTV Kansas City. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ Fineout, Gary; Atterbury, Rew (April 23, 2019). "Florida Supreme Court upholds suspension of embattled Broward sheriff". Politico. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ Israel v. DeSantis, 269 So. 3d 491 (Fla. 2019).
- ^ a b Stern, Mark Joseph (July 22, 2020). "Two Trump Judges Broke Ethics Rules to Stop Up to 1 Million Floridians From Voting in November". Slate Magazine. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ "SC19-1341 Advisory Opinion to the Governor Re: Implementation of Amendment 4, (Voting Restoration)". YouTube. Florida Supreme Court. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ "What They Are Saying: Florida Leaders React to Governor Ron DeSantis' Appointment of Barbara Lagoa to the Florida Supreme Court". flgov. January 9, 2019.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
- ^ "Twenty-five Nominations and Three Withdrawals Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
- ^ "Pres. Nom. 1171". 116th Cong. (2019).
- ^ "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov.
- ^ "Results of Executive Business – November 7, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
- ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Barbara Lagoa to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit)". United States Senate. November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Barbara Lagoa to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit)". United States Senate. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ Moline, Michael (July 27, 2020). "Judges Lagoa, Luck refuse to withdraw from appeal affecting felon voting rights in FL". Florida Phoenix.
- ^ "Order" (PDF).
- ^ Mazzei, Patricia (September 11, 2020). "Ex-Felons in Florida Must Pay Fines Before Voting, Appeals Court Rules". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ Kennedy, John; Wolf, Richard. "Trump eyes Cuban American judge from Florida for Supreme Court". USA Today. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ "Jones v. Governor of Florida" (PDF). No. 20-12003 (11th Cir. Sept. 11, 2020).
- ^ "Remarks by President Trump on Judicial Appointments". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
- ^ Johnson, Carrie; Keith, Tamara (September 19, 2020). "Sources: Trump Considers Barrett, Lagoa, Rushing For Supreme Court Spot". NPR. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ Wolf, Richard; Kennedy, John (September 19, 2020). "Trump eyes Cuban American judge from Florida for Supreme Court". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ Semones, Evan (September 19, 2020). "What you need to know about Barbara Lagoa". Politico. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c Stanley-Becker, Isaac; Davis, Aaron (September 20, 2020). "Barbara Lagoa, Cuban American judge, rises on Trump's Supreme Court list as allies emphasize Florida campaign edge". Washington Post. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ BBC News, report published 26 September 2020
- ^ Zimmermann, Carol. "Two Catholic women judges top short list as possible Supreme Court nominees". National Catholic Reporter. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
External links
- This article incorporates text from Judge Lagoa's Third DCA Profile, a work of the Florida government and thus in the public domain in the United States.
- Barbara Lagoa at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Circuit nomination page from the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary