Robert Joshua Luck (born March 17, 1979) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

and was formerly a justice of the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

. A Miami native, he has previously served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

and as a judge on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida and then the Florida Third District Court of Appeal.

Background

Luck was born on March 17, 1979, to a Jewish family in

South Miami South Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida in the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 11,657 at the 2010 census and as of 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, was 11,911. South Miami's central business district is directl ...

, Florida. He grew up in

North Miami Beach North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the U.S. Coast Guard, the city was renamed "North Miami Be ...

. After high school, Luck studied

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

at the

University of Florida 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 ...

, graduating in 2000 with a

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 years ...

degree with highest honors. He worked as a legislative correspondent for U.S. senators

Paul Coverdell Paul Douglas Coverdell (January 20, 1939 – July 18, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia, elected for the first time in 1992 and re-elected in 1998, and director of the Peace Corps from 1989 until ...

and

Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013 and again in 2018. A Republican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, ser ...

from 2000 to 2001, then attended the University of Florida's

Fredric G. Levin College 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 overall ...

, where he was editor-in-chief of the ''

Florida Law Review The ''Florida Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review published by the University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law. The review was established in 1948 as the ''University of Florida Law Review'' and it assumed its current name in 1989. ...

''. He graduated in 2004 with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' and

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

membership. Luck was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for judge

Edward Earl Carnes Edward Earl Carnes (born June 3, 1950) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Education and legal career Carnes received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Ala ...

of the Eleventh Circuit from 2004 to 2005. He spent a year in private practice at the law firm

Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...

, then returned to Carnes's chambers to work as a staff attorney and law clerk from 2006 to 2008. In 2008, he returned to Miami as an

for the Southern District of Florida.

Judicial career

State judicial service

He was appointed to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in June 2013 by

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

. He was later appointed to the

Florida Third District Court of Appeal The Florida Third District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its ten judges have jurisdiction over cases arising from Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. History The Third District Court of Appeal (DCA) was one of the first three DC ...

in March 2017, where he served as a judge. On January 14, 2019, Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...

selected Luck to be a Justice on the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

. He resigned from the court after being appointed to the Eleventh Circuit.

Federal judicial service

On September 12, 2019, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

announced his intent to nominate Luck to a seat on the

."President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees" White House, September 12, 2019
On October 15, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Luck to the seat being vacated by Judge

Gerald Bard Tjoflat Gerald Bard Tjoflat (born December 6, 1929) is an American lawyer and Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Education and career Tjoflat was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served ...

, who had previously announced his intention to assume

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on a date to be determined. Luck was unanimously rated well-qualified by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

for the appellate position. On October 16, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

. On November 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–6 vote. On November 18, 2019, the Senate invoked

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...

by a 61–30 vote. On November 19, 2019, the Senate confirmed his nomination by a 64–31 vote. He received his judicial commission the same day.

References

External links