Mendoza at his
investiture ceremony as
a federal judge in 2014.
Photo by Steve Branyon.
Mendoza with his state court colleagues.
Photo by StAugustine.com.
of the Quarter and a Navy/Marine Corps
Achievement Medal. Mendoza considers
his military honors to be the most impor-
tant 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. After-
ward, 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. Men-
doza 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 Gover-
nor 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 serv-
ing 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 in-
vites 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 per-
sonal and professional growth to the in-
fluence 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 young-
er 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 guid-
ance to others.
“Not everyone has the benefit of won-
derful 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 accom-
plish. 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.
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