GOVERNOR DESANTIS MAKES FIRST OF
THREE HISTORIC APPOINTMENTS TO
THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT

Judge Barbara Lagoa of Miami to become the first
Cuban-American Woman on the Florida Supreme Court.

(Tallahassee, FL) Today, as his first very first act in office, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Judge Barbara Lagoa, the first of three appointments which are expected to the Florida Supreme Court.  Judge Lagoa currently sits on the Third District Court of Appeals (DCA) in Miami.  The Third DCA is an appeals court between the trial court and the state supreme court.

Florida Family Policy Council President John Stemberger issued the following statement today regarding this appointment:

“Governor Ron DeSantis has made a simply outstanding choice in Barbara Lagoa for the Florida Supreme Court.  She is smart, thoughtful, and has a conservative judicial philosophy that appreciates the limited role of the court.  She is also deeply committed to her faith, her family and her community.  In the world of judicial appointments, Barbara Lagoa is a home run.  Governor DeSantis should be highly commended for a very thorough vetting process and a commitment to appoint such highly principled Justices as Barbara Lagoa.”

Judge Lagoa is the first of three appointments that Governor DeSantis will make to replace three of the court’s most liberal justices who termed out for mandatory retirement at age 70* yesterday on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. The retiring justices are Barbara Pariente (Lawton Chiles Appointment in 1997); Fred Lewis (Lawton Chiles Appointment in 1998); and Peggy Quince (Initially a Lawton Chiles appointee whom Jeb Bush also agreed to appoint on his first day of office in 1998).

During his inaugural address on Tuesday, Governor DeSantis forthrightly stated, “I say to you: judicial activism ends, right here and right now. I‘ll only appoint judges who understand the proper role of the courts is to apply the law and Constitution as written, not to legislate from the bench. The Constitution, not the judiciary, is supreme.”  Today’s appointment of Barbara Lagoa is evidence of this promise given Lagoa’s judicial philosophy.

Personal and Professional Bio on Judge Barbara Lagoa:

Judge Lagoa’s parents fled Cuba and she was born in Miami, Florida.  She has served on the Third District Court of Appeals in Miami for the past twelve years since being appointed to that court by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006.  Of all 59 applicants that applied to the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, Lagoa had the most appellate experience. Over her 12 years on the appellate bench, Judge Lagoa has heard more than 11,000 cases and issued more than 470 written opinions. Judge Lagoa was also the first Cuban American woman to serve on the Third District Court of Appeals and is fluent in both Spanish and English.  She received her Juris Doctorate from Columbia University. Her civil practice focused on general and complex commercial litigation, particularly the areas of employment discrimination, business torts, securities litigation, construction litigation, and insurance coverage disputes. She also served as Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida. In this office, she worked in the Civil, Major Crimes and Appellate Sections. As an Assistant United States Attorney, she tried numerous criminal jury trials, including drug conspiracies and Hobbs Act violations.

Judge Lagoa has been a member of the Federalist Society for several years.  She has also been actively involved with Kristi House, an organization that provides treatment, advocacy, and coordination of services for all child victims of abuse and their families, as well as education and prevention services to end child abuse and sex trafficking. She is married to attorney Paul C. Huck, Jr. and is the mother of three children.  The Lagoa family are faithful Catholics and attend the Church of the Epiphany in Miami.

Judge Lagoa’s 144-page application to the Judicial Nominating Commission can be found here:

https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2018/10/Lagoa-Barbara-1.pdf

Judge Lagoa’s interview with the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission can be watched on video from 2:15 to 28:30 here:https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/11-4-18-florida-supreme-court-judicial-nominating-commission-part-1/

* NOTE: Florida voters passed Amendment 6 on November 6, 2018, which increased the mandatory retirement age of Florida judges from 70 to 75.  FFPC President John Stemberger, as a member of the 2018 Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), co-sponsored the proposal which became Amendment 6.  This proposal/amendment ensured that the effective date of Amendment 6 took place on July 1, 2019, preventing it from affecting the judicial transitions in January 2019.

For more information contact:
Media@FLfamily.org
# # #

Florida Family Policy Council

4853 S. Orange Ave, Suite C, Orlando, FL 32806

Info@FLfamily.org  *  Phone:  407-251-5130

The post GOVERNOR DESANTIS APPOINTS BARBARA LAGOA TO FLORIDA SUPREME COURT appeared first on Florida Family Action.

Now more than ever we need strong Christian influences in politics AT EVERY LEVEL of government.  

If you agree with this statement, can we count on your support as we head into the last 12 days of this election?

There is so much more we can do before election day to continue to reach Florida voters with our voter guides and resources. But we need your help to do this.

As you know, early voting began Monday for 50 of Florida’s 67 counties. This Saturday, early voting will be open for all Florida counties. Distributing our voter resources now is critical to ensure these voters receive all the information they need to make wise and informed decisions when they vote.

Most political experts agree that whichever presidential candidate wins Florida will also win this election.   

This is not an election to sit on the sidelines.

Remember, for every candidate you and I have the opportunity to vote for, we are voting more for their policy positions, than for the person themselves.

Almost more important than the President’s race this election are the thousands of other down-ballot races at every level of government in Florida which will be negatively affected if there is a low Christian voter turnout. A poor voter turnout would impact these races in our local school boards, county and city commission races, state legislative races and congressional races, etc.

Did you know that EVERY single state house, state senate and congressional seat in Florida is up for election and on the ballot this year? 

The number of Christian voters we will be able to reach,

and therefore, the impact you and FFA will be able to make in these final days,

is determined by the funds raised right now, leading up to November 8^th!

Can we count on your support and partnership with us at this critical time?

THE CHRISTIAN VOTE IS THE KEY TO WINNING FLORIDA AND PROTECTING OUR SHARED VALUES!

Floridians are living in the most valuable piece of political real estate in America because Florida is a key swing state and the Presidential election will directly turn on how Florida votes.

Christians are one of the most strategic constituencies (if not THE most strategic constituency) to the outcome of this election.  And right now, many are confused on how to vote.  We need to reach out to them with educational voting resources now!

The outcome of November 8th will steer the course of our nation and our Supreme Court for the next 30 years – for either good or evil. You can do your part today by voting, sharing our voter resources with family and friends and by giving so we can share these resources with others.

Would you please make the most generous contribution you can right now to invest in this very strategic work we are doing here in Florida, which will directly impact the results of this entire election and the future of our great nation?  

Thank you SO MUCH for your ongoing support and for not giving up on “the good worth fighting for.”

Sincerely,

John Stemberger

President, Florida Family Action

For your convenience we have listed our Voter Guide Resources below:

View and download our General Election Voter Guide HERE. Please print as many copies as you need! Click HERE for Spanish.

View and download our 2016 Florida Amendment Guide HERE for a breakdown of what each proposed amendment means and how we suggest you vote.

Our in-depth Online Interactive Voter Guide HERE features all federal and state offices on November’s ballot including the President, US Senate, US House, Florida Senate, and Florida House.

Our Judicial Voter Guide HERE is available for you to learn more about the judicial candidates up for a retention vote or election.

And our first-ever Legislative Scorecard HERE will show you how your elected officials (many of whom are running for re-electionthis year) have voted regarding pro-family pro-life issues in Florida – this is a strong tool to keep them accountable!

In some areas, we are also able to provide you with local community Voter Guides HERE featuring city and county candidates/issues.

ALL of these tools are available online at www.FloridaElectionCentral.com.

NOTE:  If these voting resources are helpful to you and your family, and you would like to give a gift to help offset the cost of our research and making all of these resources available, you can do that HERE.

The post We need this now more than ever! Do you agree? appeared first on Florida Family Action.