Pace alumni Judge Barbara Lagoa becomes first Cuban American woman on Florida Supreme Court

In his first act as Florida’s new governor following his inauguration, Ron DeSantis appointed Miami judge Barbara Lagoa to the Florida Supreme Court, filling one of three vacant seats on the state’s highest court.
Lagoa, a Monsignor Edward Pace High alumni who served as the school’s student council president, is the first Cuban American woman to serve on the court.
She fills one of the three seats vacated by Justices Barbara Parent, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince who reached the mandatory age retirement age.
In 2006, then-Governor Jeb Bush appointed Lagoa to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David Levy on a Miami appeals court.
Prior to joining the bench, Lagoa, 52, practiced in both civil and criminal arenas.
In 2003, she joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Lagos, a Miami native, earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English cum laude from Florida International University and earned her law degree from Columbia University.