Historical Photographs
This photograph of the Court was taken on March 3, 1981. It includes Judge Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr., who was the first African-American to serve on the Court. He served from 1980 until 1993 when President Clinton nominated him to the federal bench. It also includes Judge Natalie Baskin, the Court’s first female judge. She served from 1980 until she passed away in 1996.
This photograph of the Court was taken on May 11, 1990. It includes Judge Mario P. Goderich, who was not only the first Latin-American to serve on the Court, but also the first to sit on any court of appeal in the United States. Judge Goderich, who served from 1990-2005, was born in Cuba.
The Court’s first all-female oral argument panel presided on February 16, 2005. This historic panel was comprised of Judges Linda A. Wells, Melvia B. Green, and Leslie B. Rothenberg. Judge Green was the Court’s first African-American female judge. She served on the Court from 1994 until 2008.
The Court’s first all-Hispanic oral argument panel presided on October 3, 2005 and was comprised of Judges Richard J. Suarez, Juan Ramirez, Jr., and Angel A. Cortiñas.
Judge Barbara Lagoa became the Court’s first Hispanic female judge when she was appointed in June 2006. On January 9, 2019, she became the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban American woman appointed to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. On December 6, 2019, she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, where she currently serves.
During his 2017 investiture at the Third District Court of Appeal, Judge Robert Luck was sworn in by his mentor, Judge Ed Carnes for whom Judge Luck previously spent three years clerking for at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In January 2019, Judge Luck was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court and by November 2019 he was appointed to the Eleventh Circuit where he was reunited with Judge Carnes.