Barbara Lagoa

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Barbara Lagoa
Official portrait, 2019
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Assumed office
December 6, 2019
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byStanley Marcus
Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida
In office
January 9, 2019 – December 6, 2019
Appointed byRon DeSantis
Preceded byR. Fred Lewis
Succeeded byJohn D. Couriel
Chief Judge of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal
In office
January 1, 2019 – January 8, 2019
Preceded byLeslie Rothenberg
Succeeded byKevin Emas
Judge of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal
In office
June 2006 – January 9, 2019
Appointed byJeb Bush
Preceded byDavid Levy
Succeeded byMonica Gordo
Personal details
Born (1967-11-02) November 2, 1967 (age 56)[1]
Miami, Florida, U.S.
SpousePaul Huck Jr.
Children3[2]
EducationFlorida 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 Latina and Cuban American woman appointed to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.[3][4]

In 2020, Lagoa was a finalist to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, which ultimately went to Amy Coney Barrett.[5][6]

Early life and education[edit]

Lagoa was born in Miami, Florida, in 1967.[1][7] Lagoa's parents, Antonio and Araceli Lagoa, were Cuban immigrants who fled Cuba following the Cuban Revolution and the assumption of power by Fidel Castro.[8] She grew up in the majority Cuban-American city of Hialeah, Florida.[9] She is bilingual in English and Spanish.[10]

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.[9]

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

After law school, Lagoa returned to Miami and entered private practice at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. From 1998 to 2003, Lagoa 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.[11] 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[edit]

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.[12][13] 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.[14] 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.[15][16]

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.[17][18] Lagoa resigned her position when she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[19]

Federal judicial service[edit]

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.[20] She was nominated to the seat being vacated by Judge Stanley Marcus.[21] On October 15, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[22] On October 16, 2019, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[23] On November 7, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 18–4 vote.[24] On November 19, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by an 80–15 vote,[25] and on November 20, 2019, her nomination was confirmed by an 80–15 vote.[26] She received her judicial commission on December 6, 2019.[27]

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.[17] 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."[28][29] 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.[30] Lagoa joined Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr.'s majority opinion, joined Pryor's additional concurrence, and authored her own concurrence.[31][32]

In December 2022, Lagoa wrote the en banc court's majority opinion finding that a high school's bathroom policy, which separated bathrooms on the basis of biological sex, does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or Title IX.[33] Lagoa separately wrote a special concurrence to "discuss the effect that a departure from a biological understanding of 'sex' under Title IX—i.e., equating 'sex' to 'gender identity' or 'transgender status'—would have on girls’ and women's rights and sports."[33]

On August 21, 2023, Lagoa authored an opinion vacating a district court's preliminary injunction and allowing section 4(a)(1)-(3) of Alabama's Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act to go into effect.[34] Section 4(a)(1)-(3) makes it a crime in Alabama to "engage in or cause" the prescription or administration of puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to individuals under the age of 19 "for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of or affirm the minor's perception of his or her gender or sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor's sex." In allowing the law to take effect, Lagoa found it unlikely that the Constitution protects an unenumerated right of parents to treat their children with transitioning medications. She also held that the law does not amount to sex discrimination.

Potential Supreme Court nomination[edit]

On September 9, 2020, Trump included Lagoa on a list of potential nominees to the United States Supreme Court.[35] 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.[36][37][38]

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."[39] 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."[39] 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.[40] Barrett was confirmed in October of that year.

Personal life[edit]

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.[9] Lagoa and her husband have three daughters, including a set of twins.[39] 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."[41]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Semones, Evan (September 19, 2020). "What you need to know about Barbara Lagoa". Politico.
  3. ^ Ovalle, David (January 9, 2019). "Miami's Barbara Lagoa is the next Florida Supreme Court justice". The Miami Herald.
  4. ^ "Federalist Society Contributor: Barbara Lagoa". fedsoc.org. December 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "How Trump picked Amy Coney Barrett over Barbara Lagoa for the Supreme Court | CNN Politics". CNN. September 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "In Miami, buzz over Cuban American judge Barbara Lagoa as potential Trump Supreme Court pick". NBC News. September 21, 2020.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Van Sickler, Michael (September 19, 2020). "Trump considering this Florida justice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg". Tampa Bay Times.
  9. ^ a b c "DeSantis Picks Female Cuban-American For State's High Court". wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu. January 9, 2019.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Chardry, Alfonso; Weaver, Jay (May 5, 2000). "Rival campaigns helping to pay for lawyers in Elian case". The Miami Herald – via Latin American Studies.
  12. ^ "Biography of Judge Barbara Lagoa". www.3dca.flcourts.org. Archived from the original on July 28, 2007.
  13. ^ "Justice Barbara Lagoa". floridasupremecourt.org. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Fineout, Gary; Atterbury, Rew (April 23, 2019). "Florida Supreme Court upholds suspension of embattled Broward sheriff". Politico. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  16. ^ Israel v. DeSantis, 269 So. 3d 491 (Fla. 2019).
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "What They Are Saying: Florida Leaders React to Governor Ron DeSantis' Appointment of Barbara Lagoa to the Florida Supreme Court". flgov. January 9, 2019.
  20. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  21. ^ "Twenty-five Nominations and Three Withdrawals Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  22. ^ "Pres. Nom. 1171". 116th Cong. (2019). November 20, 2019.
  23. ^ "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. October 16, 2019.
  24. ^ "Results of Executive Business – November 7, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
  25. ^ "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.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ Barbara Lagoa at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  28. ^ Moline, Michael (July 27, 2020). "Judges Lagoa, Luck refuse to withdraw from appeal affecting felon voting rights in FL". Florida Phoenix.
  29. ^ "Order" (PDF).
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ Kennedy, John; Wolf, Richard. "Trump eyes Cuban American judge from Florida for Supreme Court". USA Today. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  32. ^ "Jones v. Governor of Florida" (PDF). No. 20-12003 (11th Cir. Sept. 11, 2020).
  33. ^ a b "Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County" (PDF). No. 18-13592 (11th Cir. Dec. 30, 2022).
  34. ^ "Eknes-Tucker v. Governor" (PDF). No. 22-11707 (11th Cir. Aug. 21, 2023).
  35. ^ "Remarks by President Trump on Judicial Appointments". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  36. ^ Johnson, Carrie; Keith, Tamara (September 19, 2020). "Sources: Trump Considers Barrett, Lagoa, Rushing For Supreme Court Spot". NPR. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  37. ^ Wolf, Richard; Kennedy, John (September 19, 2020). "Trump eyes Cuban American judge from Florida for Supreme Court". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  38. ^ Semones, Evan (September 19, 2020). "What you need to know about Barbara Lagoa". Politico. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  39. ^ 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.
  40. ^ BBC News, report published 26 September 2020
  41. ^ Zimmermann, Carol (September 21, 2020). "Two Catholic women judges top short list as possible Supreme Court nominees". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

External links[edit]

Legal offices
Preceded by Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida
2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
2019–present 		Incumbent
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