Gov. Ron DeSantis is now positioned to make his fifth Supreme Court pick in under a year of being in office.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Barbara Lagoa to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by an 80-15 margin.
Lagoa is the second Florida Supreme Court justice to be federally confirmed this week; Robert Luck was confirmed Tuesday.
Lagoa and Luck were two of DeSantis’ first three picks, made earlier this year and already headed out.
Carlos Muniz, the third, remains on the court.
The Miami-born Lagoa, 51, was first appointed to the bench by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006. She previously was chief judge of the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami, a capacity in which she heard over 11,000 cases.
Before that, she handled civil and criminal law for the powerhouse Greenberg Traurig firm.
The Governor and his staff have had months to prepare for the new openings, as they continue to move the court in a conservative direction.
In September, President Donald Trump said he’d nominate Lagoa and Luck to fill two openings on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
Gov. DeSantis, at the time, credited the President with “great judgment” for the picks. while crediting Lagoa and Luck with “demonstrated understanding of the Constitution and the appropriate role of the judiciary.”
They will hear appellate cases from Alabama, Florida and Georgia, and are expected to move the court more toward a textualist, Federalist Society skein.
“I thank Justice Lagoa for her years of service in both the federal and Florida state justice systems, including as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Florida,” Sen. Marco Rubio said. “I am confident Justice Lagoa’s experience will serve her well as she begins the next chapter of her service to our nation as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit.”
Reaction poured in from leading Republicans on Wednesday afternoon.
“I thank Justice Lagoa for her years of service in both the federal and Florida state justice systems, including as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Florida,” Sen. Marco Rubio said. “I am confident Justice Lagoa’s experience will serve her well as she begins the next chapter of her service to our nation as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit.”
“An experienced jurist committed to the rule of law, Judge Lagoa has served Florida honorably. She made history as the first Cuban-American woman appointed to Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals and the Florida Supreme Court where she authored more than 300 majority opinions. I am confident she will preside honorably over the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 11th Circuit,” asserted Attorney General Ashley Moody.
