Adalberto Jordan


Adalberto Jose Jordan is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law, his alma mater, and at Florida International University's College of Law. In February 2016, The New York Times identified Jordan as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. In early March, Jordan removed himself from consideration.

Early life and education

Jordan was born in Havana, Cuba and came with his family to Miami, Florida when he was a young boy, in 1968. Jordan graduated from St. Brendan High School in 1980. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics, magna cum laude, from the University of Miami, in 1984. While an undergraduate at the University of Miami, Jordan was a walk-on member of the baseball team. Jordan then earned his Juris Doctor summa cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law in 1987, where he was the Articles & Comments Editor for the University of Miami Law Review, graduating second in his law school class. Jordan went on to clerk for Judge Thomas Alonzo Clark of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia from 1987 to 1988, and for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court from 1988 to 1989.

Professional career

In 1989, Jordan returned to Miami to work as an associate for Steel, Hector & Davis, a prestigious local law firm that was acquired by Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in 2005. Despite being there a relatively short time, Jordan was named a partner at Steel, Hector & Davis by his fifth year. Shortly after making partner, Jordan made the transition to public-sector lawyering, and became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in 1994. In 1998, he was appointed Chief of the Appellate Division, and served in that position for about one year.

Federal judicial service

District court service

On March 15, 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Jordan to the seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida that had been vacated by Judge Lenore Carrero Nesbitt. Jordan was confirmed to the federal bench by the United States Senate on September 8, 1999, by a vote of 93-1, with then-Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire as the lone dissenting vote. Jordan received his commission on September 9, 1999.

Eleventh Circuit service

In May 2011, the South Florida Daily Business Review reported that Jordan was being vetted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in anticipation of President Obama nominating Jordan to a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit created when 11th Circuit Judge Susan H. Black took senior status in February 2011. On August 2, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Jordan for the judgeship.
On October 13, 2011 the Senate Judiciary Committee approved his nomination by voice vote. On February 9, 2012, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved to invoke cloture on Jordan's nomination, thereby cutting off debate and ending a Republican filibuster of Jordan's nomination. A cloture vote was held for February 13, 2012. Cloture was invoked in an 89–5 vote. On February 15, 2012, the United States Senate confirmed Jordan to the seat on the Eleventh Circuit in a 94–5 vote. Jordan received his judicial commission on February 17, 2012.

Personal life

Adalberto Jordan is married to Lazara Esther Jordan, née Castillo, a teacher at St. Brendan Catholic High School, of which both are alumni.