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John Badalamenti
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 20, 2020
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byElizabeth A. Kovachevich
Judge of the Florida Second District Court of Appeal
In office
April 29, 2015 – June 4, 2020
Appointed byRick Scott
Preceded byCharles A. Davis
Succeeded bySuzanne Labrit
Personal details
Born
John Leonard Badalamenti

(1973-08-22) August 22, 1973 (age 51)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Florida (BA, MA, JD)

John Leonard Badalamenti (born August 22, 1973)[1] is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Biography

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Badalamenti received a Bachelor of Arts in 1995, with highest honors, a Master of Arts in 1999, and a Juris Doctor in 1999, with honors, from the University of Florida. He began his career in the U.S. Attorney General's Honors Program, serving as an attorney-advisor at the Federal Bureau of Prisons from 1999 to 2000. He first clerked for Judge Frank M. Hull of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 2000 to 2001. Badalamenti was also an associate at Carlton Fields, P.A. from 2001 to 2002.[2] Then, he clerked for Judge Paul Hitch Roney of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 2003 to 2006. He served for nearly a decade as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Middle District of Florida from 2006 to 2015. He is an Eagle Scout and serves as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America.[2][3]

Badalamenti was counsel of record, authored the petition for writ of certiorari, and presented oral argument in the Supreme Court of the United States for the prevailing petitioner, a fisherman, who was charged under a criminal provision, 18 U.S.C. § 1519, of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for destroying undersized fish to prevent their seizure by federal authorities.Yates v. United States (2015), 135 S. Ct. 1074 (2015).[4][5][6]

As a child, Badalamenti lived in the Gravesend Neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, attending Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy.[7] He is the nephew of Angelo Badalamenti, an American music composer.

Badalamenti battled blindness in law school in the 1990s and regained his sight through cornea transplants. He is now blind in one eye and has trouble seeing with the other because of an eye infection in 2020.[8]

Judicial service

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State judicial service

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From 2015 to 2020, Badalamenti served as a Judge of the Florida Second District Court of Appeal after being appointed by Governor Rick Scott.[2][3] Badalamenti won merit retention in 2016. His state court service ended when he was commissioned as a federal judge.

Federal judicial service

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In December 2017, Badalamenti was chosen by the bipartisan Federal Judicial Nominating Commission Middle District Conference as one of four finalists for Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio to recommend to President Donald Trump to fill one of the vacancies created by Judges James D. Whittemore and John E. Steele taking senior status. Badalamenti was not nominated for either vacancy. [9]

On December 23, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Badalamenti to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.[3] On February 4, 2020, his nomination was sent to the United States Senate. President Trump nominated Badalamenti to the seat vacated by Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, who assumed senior status on December 14, 2018.[10] A substantial majority of the American Bar Association (ABA)'s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates the qualifications of federal judicial nominees, rated Badalamenti "well qualified" to serve as a federal trial court judge.[11] A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on February 12, 2020.[12] On March 12, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–6 vote.[13] On May 21, 2020, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 65–28 vote.[14] On June 1, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by a 55–22 vote.[15] He received his judicial commission on June 4, 2020.[16]

Notable cases

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In 2023, Badalamenti entered summary judgment against a plaintiff who sued the School Board of Lee County based on termination of a food supply contract with his business. The plaintiff alleged that the termination of the contract violated his First Amendment rights because it was precipitated by a Facebook post he wrote, in which he characterized the COVID-19 pandemic as a “hoax” and denounced George Floyd. Badalamenti ruled that the School Board's stated interests in terminating the contract outweighed the plaintiff's First Amendment interests.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: John Badalamenti" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  2. ^ a b c "Judge John L. Badalamenti". Second District Court of Appeal. Archived from the original on 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  3. ^ a b c "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees". whitehouse.gov. December 23, 2019. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021 – via National Archives. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "Yates v. United States". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  5. ^ Kendall, Brent (February 25, 2021). "Supreme Court Faults Use of Sarbanes-Oxley in Fisherman Case". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  6. ^ Kendall, Brett (November 5, 2015). "Supreme Court Objects to Application of Sarbanes-Oxley on Commercial Fisherman: Florida Fisherman Accused of Destroying Evidence That He Harvested Undersized Fish". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Hooker, Michael (March 1, 2021). "Meet the Judge: Judge Badalamenti goes 'Off the Record'" (PDF). Hillsborough County Bar Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Ramonas, Andrew (2023-10-04). "Trump-Appointed Judge in Target LGBTQ+ Pride Case Defies Labels". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  9. ^ "Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge Virginia Baker Norton a finalist for federal bench". 6 December 2017.
  10. ^ ""Eleven Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, February 4, 2020". Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY RATINGS OF ARTICLE III AND ARTICLE IV JUDICIAL NOMINEES 116TH CONGRESS" (PDF). American Bar Association.
  12. ^ "Nominations for February 12, 2020". Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 12, 2020, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF). Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  14. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: John Leonard Badalamenti to be U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida) United States Senate, May 21, 2020". Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  15. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: John Leonard Badalamenti, of Florida, to be U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida) United States Senate, June 1, 2020". Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  16. ^ John Badalamenti at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  17. ^ "Judge dismisses Oakes lawsuit against Lee County School Board". theparadiseprogressive.com. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
[edit]
Legal offices
Preceded by
Charles A. Davis
 Judge of the Florida Second District Court of Appeal
2015–2020 		Succeeded by
Suzanne Labrit
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
2020–present 		Incumbent
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