Tom Barber
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Thomas P. Barber is a judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. On May 7, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Barber to a seat on this court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Barber on June 12, 2019, on a vote of 77-19.[1][2] He received commission on July 11, 2019.[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida is one of 94 U.S. district courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Barber was a judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida from 2008 to 2019. He was appointed to this court by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008.[4][5][6]
Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On May 7, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Barber to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The U.S. Senate confirmed Barber on June 12, 2019, on a vote of 77-19.[1][2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Tom Barber |
| Court: United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 401 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 7, 2018
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: October 17, 2018
|
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: February 7, 2019
|
| Confirmed: June 12, 2019
|
| Vote: 77-19
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Barber on June 12, 2019, on a vote of 77-19.[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Barber confirmation vote (June 12, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
25 | 19 | 1 | ||||||
 Republican |
51 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
 Independent |
1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 77 | 19 | 4 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Barber was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[7]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[8]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[9] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Barber's nomination October 17, 2018.[2]
The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported Barber's nomination on February 7, 2019.[10] Click here to see how the committee voted. Barber's nomination was one of 44 that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reported that day.
Nomination
Barber was nominated to succeed Judge James Whittemore, who assumed senior status on August 29, 2017.[2]
At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Barber's nomination to President Trump.[11] Barber was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[12]
The American Bar Association rated Barber unanimously well qualified for the position.[13]
Florida 13th Circuit Court (2008-2019)
Barber was a judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida from 2008 to 2019. He was appointed to this court by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008.[4][5][6]
2016 election
Florida's 20 circuit courts all had seats up for election in 2016. Of the 151 seats up for election, 125 saw only one candidate file for the election. The unopposed races were canceled and the sole candidates were automatically elected. Of the 26 opposed races, only 10 saw more than two candidates file. [14]
| Florida 13th Circuit Court, Group 37 Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
 Tom Barber Incumbent | ||
| Source: Florida Department of State Division of Elections, "August 30, 2016 Primary Election," accessed December 19, 2016 | ||
2010 election
- Main article: Florida judicial elections, 2010
Barber ran unopposed and was automatically retained to a new term.[6]
Hillsborough County Court (2004-2008)
Barber was a judge on the Hillsborough County Court in Florida from 2004 to 2008.
Education
Barber received his B.A. degree from the University of Florida in 1989 and his J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.[4][15]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- 2008-2019: Judge, Florida 13th Circuit Court
- 2004-2008: Judge, Hillsborough County Court
- 2002-2004: Partner, Carlton Fields, P.A.
- 2000-2002: Attorney, Carlton Fields, P.A.
- 1999-2000: Assistant statewide prosecutor
- 1997-1999: Assistant state attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit
- 1992-1997: Associate, Carlton Fields, P.A.[4][5][15]
About the court
| Middle District of Florida |
|---|
| Eleventh Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 15 |
| Judges: 12 |
| Vacancies: 3 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Marcia Howard |
| Active judges: John L. Badalamenti, Tom Barber, Wendy W. Berger, Paul G. Byron, Sheri Polster Chappell, Marcia Howard, William Jung, Carlos E. Mendoza, Steven Merryday, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, Mary Scriven, Julie Sneed Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida is one of 94 United States district courts. The district has courthouses in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, and Tampa. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit based in downtown Atlanta at the Elbert P. Tuttle Federal Courthouse.
The Middle District of Florida has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
It holds court in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando and Tampa Bay.
There are five court divisions, each covering the following counties:
The Fort Myers Division, covering Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties.
The Jacksonville Division, covering Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Hamilton, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwannee, and Union counties.
The Ocala Division, covering Citrus, Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties.
The Orlando Division, covering Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties.
The Tampa Division, covering Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota counties.
The federal nomination process
Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:
- The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
- The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
- As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
- After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
- If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
- If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
- The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
- If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
- If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.
See also
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
- 13th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congress.gov, "PN215 — Thomas P. Barber — The Judiciary," accessed June 13, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Congress.gov, "PN1890 — Thomas P. Barber — The Judiciary," accessed October 29, 2018
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Barber, Thomas Patrick," accessed July 12, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 13th Judicial Circuit Court, "Tom Barber profile"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Penn Law Journal, "Alumni Briefs: 1990s," Fall 2008
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Florida Department of State, "Candidate Listing for 2010 General Election" Select top "View List" button and scroll to "Circuit Judge" section
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," February 7, 2019
- ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees, 115th Congress," accessed October 29, 2018
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidate Listing for 2016 General Election," accessed July 5, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lawdiary.com, "Biographies of State and County Court Judges in Florida," accessed May 7, 2014 Scroll to p.27
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Florida 13th Circuit Court 2008-2019 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida
State courts:
Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court
State resources:
Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida
