Jorge Labarga (born 1952) is a justice of the
Florida Supreme Court, taking office on January 6, 2009. On June 30, 2014, he was sworn in as Florida's 56th Chief Justice and the first Cuban-American to hold the post. He was succeeded on July 1, 2018, by
Charles T. Canady.
Biography
Labarga was born in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba in 1952 to Miriam and Jorge Labarga, Sr.
He grew up and graduated high school in
Pahokee, Florida
Pahokee is a city located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,649 in the 2010 census.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, 57% of the residents of Pahokee were African American and 33% ...
the heavily agricultural Lake Okeechobee region of western Palm Beach County. He graduated from
Forest Hill High School
Forest Hill High School is a public high school located in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It serves students from grades 9 12, and is part of the Jackson Public School District. The current principal is Torrey Hampton.
Demographics
A tota ...
, West Palm Beach in 1972 and received his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
from the
University of Florida, Gainesville
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in 1976.
He received his
Juris Doctor from
University of Florida School of Law
The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida, and second oldest overal ...
in 1979. After law school he became an assistant public defender. In 1982, he joined the state attorney's office. From 1987 to 1992, he joined the law firm of Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Roth, Romano & Ericksen, P.A. In 1992, he was a founding partner with the law firm of Roth, Duncan & Labarga, P.A. In 1996, Governor
Lawton Chiles
Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...
appointed him a circuit court judge.
Judicial career
From 1996 to 2009, he served as a judge for the 15th Circuit Court in
Palm Beach County, Florida. He is notable as the non-partisan judge who refused a new county-only vote during the
2000 U.S. Presidential election on the grounds that the Constitution stated that an election must be held everywhere in the United States on the same day, not just in one area.
Prior to his Florida Supreme Court appointment, Labarga had been appointed by Governor
Charlie Crist to the Fourth District Court of Appeal for Florida, an intermediate appellate court based in
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
. He served in that position only a single day, January 5, 2009. His term on that court was cut short when Governor Crist quickly elevated Labarga to the Florida Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice
Harry Lee Anstead. On June 30, 2014, Labarga was sworn in as the 56th Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Florida, replacing former Chief Justice
Ricky Polston
Ricky L. Polston (born November 24, 1955 in Dothan, Alabama) has been a justice of the Florida Supreme Court since his appointment in 2008 and was the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court from July 2012 to June 2014. He is a graduate of Flo ...
.
[ Labarga is the first person of Hispanic descent to lead the state of Florida's judicial branch.][Id.]
Personal life
Labarga is married to Zulma R. Labarga, and they have two daughters.
See also
*List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists
This is a list of Hispanic/Latino Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, or administrative law judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts.
Other topics of interest
* List ...
References
External links
Bio on Florida Supreme Court Website
, -
1952 births
Living people
21st-century American judges
American judges of Cuban descent
American politicians of Cuban descent
Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court
Cuban emigrants to the United States
Forest Hill Community High School alumni
Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni
Hispanic and Latino American judges
Justices of the Florida Supreme Court
People from Havana
People from Pahokee, Florida
Public defenders
University of Florida alumni
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