Gerald Bard Tjoflat | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tjoflat in 2022 | |
| Senior Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
| Assumed office November 19, 2019 | |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
| In office October 1, 1989 – September 20, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Hitch Roney |
| Succeeded by | Joseph W. Hatchett |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
| In office October 1, 1981 – November 19, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | operation of law |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 94 Stat. 1994 |
| Succeeded by | Robert J. Luck |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
| In office November 21, 1975 – October 1, 1981 | |
| Appointed by | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | John Milton Bryan Simpson |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Florida | |
| In office October 16, 1970 – December 12, 1975 | |
| Appointed by | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 84 Stat. 294 |
| Succeeded by | Howell W. Melton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1929-12-06)December 6, 1929 (age 95) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | University of Cincinnati (BA) Duke University (LLB) |
Gerald Bard Tjoflat (born December 6, 1929) is an American lawyer andSeniorUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[1] He previously served as a U.S. district judge on theU.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida from 1970 to 1975 and as a state court judge on theFourth Judicial Circuit of Florida from 1968 to 1970.
Tjoflat was born in 1929 inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania. His father, an electrical engineer, was ofNorwegian ancestry, and his mother was an immigrant fromChile.[2]
Tjoflat attended theUniversity of Virginia on abaseball scholarship. After two years, financial constraints forced him to transfer to theUniversity of Cincinnati, where he completed his undergraduate degree. Tjoflat then enrolled in theUniversity of Cincinnati College of Law, but he was drafted into theU.S. Army at the end of his first semester. He served in the Army until 1955, attaining therank ofcorporal. After leaving the Army, Tjoflat returned to Cincinnati and completed his first year of law school. He then transferred to theDuke University School of Law, graduating in 1957 with aBachelor of Laws.[2]
Tjoflat was inprivate practice inJacksonville,Florida from 1957 to 1968 and served as a judge of theFourth Judicial Circuit of Florida in Jacksonville from 1968 to 1970.[3]
PresidentRichard Nixon nominated Tjoflat to theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on October 7, 1970, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on October 13, 1970, he received his commission three days later. His service terminated on December 12, 1975, due to his elevation to the Fifth Circuit.[3]
PresidentGerald Ford nominated Tjoflat to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on November 3, 1975, to a seat vacated by JudgeJohn Milton Bryan Simpson. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 1975, he received his commission the next day and began serving on the court on December 12, 1975.[3] Tjoflat was reassigned byoperation of law to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on October 1, 1981, when that court was established. He served as Chief Judge from 1989 to 1996.[3] Due to his Chilean ancestry, Tjoflat is the first hispanic circuit judge in the United States.[2]
Following the failure ofthe Robert Bork nomination in 1987, Tjoflat was placed on the short list of possible nominees for theSupreme Court seat formerly occupied byLewis F. Powell Jr..[4]Former GovernorClaude R. Kirk Jr. pushed for Tjoflat to be nominated afterDouglas H. Ginsburg withdrew,[5] but although Florida SenatorsLawton Chiles andBob Graham both said Tjoflat was much more acceptable than Bork,[6] it was always extremely uncertain whetherNortheastern Democrats would have found him acceptable,[7] and consequently the seat went toAnthony Kennedy.
In August 2019, Tjoflat informed PresidentDonald Trump that he will takesenior status contingent upon the confirmation and appointment of his successor.[8] He was the last federal judge in active service to have been appointed to his position by President Ford,[a] and as of 2023 remains the fourth-longest-serving federal judge measured by time in active service.[b] On November 19, 2019, his successor,Robert J. Luck, was confirmed and received his commission the same day. After Luck received his commission, Tjoflat assumed senior status on the same day.[3] Tjoflat continues to regularly sit on cases and author opinions.[9]
In 1995, theDuke Law Journal at theDuke University School of Law published a tribute to Tjoflat that included articles by then-Chief JusticeWilliam H. Rehnquist, retired JusticesLewis F. Powell, Jr. andByron R. White, and JudgeEdward R. Becker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, among others.[10]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Seat established by 84 Stat. 294 | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Florida 1970–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 1975–1981 | Succeeded by Seat abolished |
| Preceded by Seat established by 94 Stat. 1994 | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 1981–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 1989–1996 | Succeeded by |