United States District Judge, Middle District of Florida
Photo by Steve Branyon.
By Kevin Duvall. “If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; if you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; if you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same . . . .”
Carlos Mendoza, U.S. district judge for the Middle District of Florida, calls these words by Rudyard Kipling his recipe for life. From his time as a combat-decorated Marine to his appointment as a federal district judge, Mendoza has embodied Kipling’s sense of stoicism and control of his destiny.
Mendoza was nominated to his position as a district judge by President Barack Obama in February 2014 after being endorsed by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL). In June 2014, he was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 94-0.
Mendoza’s work as a judge is the latest in a long history of public service. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1989 after graduating from high school and served for two years in operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. Mendoza’s time in combat had a profound effect on his life.
“I came to terms with my own mortality at the age of 19,” says Mendoza. “Very little rattles me, and since my return from combat in 1991, I feel as if I have been playing the game of life with house money. Every day is a gift, and life is precious. I think it makes me a better judge and a better person.”
After returning to the U.S. in 1991, Mendoza stayed with the Marine Corps Reserve as a corporal while attending the College of Central Florida where he earned an associate’s degree. Mendoza attended West Virginia University (WVU) for his final two years of college, earning his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1993. He remained a member of the Marine Corps Reserve until 1995.
Mendoza received his Juris Doctor from the WVU College of Law in 1997. During law school, he was a member of the National Trial Advocacy Team and the Men’s Law Caucus. Upon graduating, he was inducted into the Order of the Barristers. Mendoza felt tremendous passion for the law and for his fellow lawyers.
“The most important experience I gained from law school was the confidence that came from feeling that I belonged and that there was something positive I could contribute to the time-honored profession of the practice of law,” he says. “Also, the friendships you develop in law school are priceless. I remain in contact with many of my classmates, and we never grow tired of talking about all of the great times we had while working toward graduation.”
Mendoza also feels a special connection to West Virginia because his time in Morgantown marked a major turning point in his career.
“I consider it the privilege of a lifetime that the WVU College of Law saw fit to admit me as a member of the class of 1997. I will always be thankful for that,” he says. “West Virginia is where I got my chance. My wife grew up there, and I consider it one of the most important building blocks in my professional life.”
After law school, Mendoza utilized his military and legal experience to become a judge advocate in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps of the U.S. Navy. Mendoza was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served in the JAG Corps until 2005. He recalls his naval experience as playing an important role in his development as a person.
“While the Marine Corps taught me to fear absolutely nothing, the Navy taught me to be both an officer and a gentleman. Both experiences have proven to be quite valuable,” he says. “The JAG Corps was an opportunity to learn how to be part of a legal team and apply those teambuilding skills to provide a very pure form of legal representation for families sacrificing everything to serve our nation.”
Over the course of his 14-year military career, Mendoza received many awards, including the Department of Justice Seal in recognition of exemplary service, four Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medals, a Letter of Commendation, Junior Officer of the Quarter and a Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Mendoza considers his military honors to be the most important awards he has received.
During the end of his service in the JAG Corps, from 2004-2005, Mendoza also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. Afterward, he became an assistant state attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. At the end of his three-year tenure, he was the division chief for St. Johns County. Mendoza served as assistant city attorney for St. Augustine, FL, from 2008-2011, when he was appointed as a circuit court judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit by Governor Rick Scott. He stayed in this position until his confirmation as a district judge.
“The varied and challenging experiences I had throughout my legal career prepared me for the unpredictable nature of serving as a federal judge,” says Mendoza.
Having been endorsed for his federal appointment by both Florida senators—a Democrat and a Republican—Mendoza is well regarded across the aisle. He stresses the importance of being impartial as a judge and listening to diverse views as a thinker.
“I think it is important to understand perspectives you may not agree with,” he says. “Surrounding yourself with people who view the world exactly as you do invites intellectual lethargy. When I listen to alternative perspectives, I sometimes question my own views, and on occasion, I change my mind.”
Beyond his experiences in the military and the law, Mendoza attributes his personal and professional growth to the influence of his family. Mendoza is a first-generation American, and his parents are naturalized U.S. citizens. He and his two siblings, an older brother and a younger sister, were the first members of their family to graduate from college.
“We are the product of driven, hard-working parents,” he says. “My parents made us believe the unbelievable, that with hard work and patience, nothing was beyond our reach. I am very proud of my siblings, and I owe my success in large part to my parents.”
The guidance Mendoza received from his parents led him to give the same guidance to others.
“Not everyone has the benefit of wonderful parents, so those of us that benefited from that type of valuable guidance have an obligation to pass that information along to those who may lack the type of guidance that can make all the difference in the world,” he says. “I feel that I have a responsibility to tell those lacking the parenting I so benefited from that there is really no limit to what they can accomplish. I think young people need to hear that they control their own destiny. Even now, I do not pass on any opportunity to speak to young people.”
Mendoza’s drive to shape his destiny has led him to a highly successful career, but he considers his family his greatest success. He approaches his role as a father with the same resolve he has displayed as a serviceman, lawyer and judge.
“I want my children to be productive, well-adjusted adults,” he says. “It is the final act of my life and a work still in progress.”
In the penultimate line of his poem, Kipling writes, “Yours is the world and everything that’s in it.” When looking at Mendoza’s career, one can see why he is inspired by it. If there is one recurring theme to his life’s work, it is that there is no limit on what one person can achieve. Mendoza follows this ideal in service to his country, his family and anyone else for whom he can be a leader.
