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Washington (CNN) -
President Donald Trump has said he plans to select a woman to replace the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a feminist icon who helped lead the liberal wing of the Supreme Court for years.
Among the people on her short list is Barbara Lagoa, a 52-year-old conservative judge whom she appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last December.
After Ginsburg's death, on Friday, the president initially expressed interest in Lagoa, a Cuban-American judge with whom he had spoken only once before.
Trump's allies advocated for the Miami-born judge, arguing that her hometown could give them a campaign advantage in Florida, a crucial state where Lagoa built a historic career as a lawyer.
"It's excellent.
She is Hispanic.
An excellent woman for all I know, ”Trump told Fox News on Monday.
I don't know her.
Florida.
We love Florida.
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Barbara Lagoa, a woman of Hispanic roots
Prior to her appointment last year, Lagoa served as the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban-American woman on the Florida Supreme Court.
She was appointed to that position in January 2019 by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
At the time of his appointment to the state's superior court, Lagoa spoke about the personal significance of the moment while the governor, his family and his parents - who are Cuban exiles - were nearby.
"More than 50 years ago, my parents, like so many others, came to this country from Cuba to begin rebuilding their lives in a land that offered them opportunities, but more importantly, freedom," said Lagoa.
“I know the furthest thing from their minds when they got here with just their clothes on their backs and their upbringing was that their only daughter would be standing here today with the Governor of Florida at an event like this today, especially since my father had to give up your dream of becoming a lawyer.
A source close to Lagoa said he would appeal to the president because his Cuban heritage would bring a different kind of diversity to the Supreme Court.
Also because although he attended an
Ivy League
law school
,
he has remained true to his roots and does not represent the elitism that exists in some East Coast circles.
Constitutional originalist
Although Lagoa would not be the first Latina to have a seat on the Court - that distinction has been held by Sonia Sotomayor since then-President Barack Obama appointed her - in 2009 it is clear that her family's inheritance would play a key role in her taking decision making.
During his Senate confirmation process last year for the 11th Circuit, Lagoa linked his commitment to originalism - the legal philosophy championed by the late Justice Antonin Scalia - with Cuban politics.
“If we are not subject to what the Constitution means and it is constantly changing, then we are no different from the country my parents fled from, which is Cuba.
Because Cuba has a constitution and a bill of rights and that doesn't mean anything, "said Lagoa, during her testimony, before the Senate Judicial Committee.
"Because there is no one to hold it up and say that this is what the definition of this constitution means if it is always changing."
And he added: “The principles that were articulated in the (United States) Constitution at the time of ratification have a meaning, that meaning is constant.
What changes is the application of that meaning to new things.
But Lagoa's originalism and judicial thinking could prove problematic for her, as White House staff working on the search for the Trump candidate discussed her recent majority vote on a ruling on the Trump candidates this weekend. offenders' rights when the 11th Circuit upheld the requirement that fines be paid before offenders regain the right to vote.
"In the end, as our judicial oath recognizes, we will answer for our work as judges who sit outside of human history," reads part of the opinion of Chief Circuit Judge William Pryor, whom Lagoa joined.
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Fines for offenders
The case questioned whether requiring offenders to pay court fines and other costs associated with their sentences was unconstitutional and violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
Lagoa sided with the majority, 6-4, in the important court decision this month.
The requirement that offenders pay all fines before regaining their right to vote was ruled within the law.
She explained that her vote was in line with how she views the limits of the role of a judge.
“Our role in the constitutional system is simply to review that step to comply with the Constitution, not to lengthen its step.
To act otherwise would violate the principles of federalism and the separation of powers, the two structural guarantors of individual rights and freedom in our Constitution ”, wrote Lagoa“… It is up to the citizens of the state of Florida and their elected state legislators, not to federal judges, make additional changes to it.
The outcome in the Florida case may be one of the most shocking in a battlefield state in this election, affecting thousands of people, attorneys in the case said.
Before a recent decision in the case, the Supreme Court had refused to intervene before the full circuit court ruled.
The Supreme Court was split 6-3, with Ginsburg in the minority.
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Abortion and the Roe vs.
Wade
Most of Lagoa's opinions have been in state court, so he has not intervened in some important constitutional matters such as Roe v.
Wade, when he was a federal judge.
However, during his Senate confirmation process last year, Lagoa was asked about the landmark case that legalized abortion in the United States and has since served as a key litmus test for Democrats and some Republicans.
In response to written questions from Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, Lagoa said the 1973 decision "is a binding Supreme Court precedent and I would faithfully follow it," noting that for "lower court justices, all Supreme Court precedents, including Roe v.
Wade… it's an established law.
Before being appointed by DeSantis to the Florida Supreme Court, Lagoa served for more than a decade on the Third District Court of Appeals.
She was appointed to that position in 2006 by then-Governor Jeb Bush.
She also made history with that appointment, being the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban-American woman to be on the panel.
She was a lawyer in the Elián González case
Lagoa has also practiced law both in the civil and criminal fields, according to his official biography.
There, she noted that she also served for some time as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
As a private attorney, in 2000, Lagoa represented the American family of Elián González, the Cuban boy whose family had been rescued in the open waters of the Atlantic, as they waged a fierce battle to obtain asylum for him.
The high-profile case rocked Florida, sparking tensions between Cuba and the United States.
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He also represented rock star Sammy Hagar in a breach of contract lawsuit.
Lagoa attended Florida International University before earning her law degree from Columbia University in 1992. There she helped edit the school's prestigious law magazine, according to her biography.
She is married to Paul Huck, who is also a lawyer, and the two have three daughters.
Barbara Lagoa Supreme Court
