Wendy Leigh Williams Berger (born December 1, 1968; ''Williams'') is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

. She previously served as a Florida state District Judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

Education

Berger earned her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

, ''cum laude'', from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

and her

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 ...

from the

Florida State University College of Law Florida State University College of Law is the law school of Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. The law school borders the southeast quadrant of the University's campus, near the Donald L. Tucker Center, an arena and part o ...

, where she was a member of the ''Florida State University Law Review''."President Donald J. Trump Announces Twelfth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Twelfth Wave of United States Attorneys, and Sixth Wave of United States Marshals" White House, April 10, 2018

Legal career

Berger spent seven years prosecuting criminal cases as an Assistant State Attorney. Before ascending to the bench, Berger served from January 2001 until May 2005 as Assistant General Counsel in the Executive Office of the Governor, which was during the gubernatorial tenure of

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

State judicial service

In May 2005, Berger was appointed by Governor

to serve as a Circuit Judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit. During her service on the circuit court, Berger presided over the civil and probate divisions (2005–2006) and adult felony division (2006–2012) in St. Augustine. She was also the presiding judge of the St. Johns County Adult Drug Court Program (2005–2012). On August 21, 2012, Governor

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 ...

appointed Berger to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. In 2016, she was one of three finalists for an appointment to 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 ...

Federal judicial service

Berger was one of four names sent to Senators

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

and

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flor ...

. On April 10, 2018, 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 ...

nominated Berger to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. She was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge John E. Steele, who assumed

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 June 3, 2015. On October 17, 2018, a hearing on her 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 January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Berger for a federal judgeship. Her nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On July 24, 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. ...

on her nomination by a 55–37 vote. Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 54–37 vote. She received her judicial commission on July 29, 2019.

Professional memberships

Berger is a part of the St. Johns County Bar Association, the Orange County Bar Association, The Florida Supreme Court Committee on Civil Jury Instructions, the Florida Bar Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, the Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section's Executive Council, the Dunn Blount Inn of Court, and the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquartered ...

Personal life

Berger lives with her husband, Larry, in St. Augustine with their two children.

References

External links

*
Official Biography on Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal website
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Wendy 1968 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges Florida lawyers Florida state court judges Florida State University alumni Florida State University College of Law alumni Judges of the Florida District Courts of Appeal Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida People from Athens, Georgia State attorneys United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump