Robert N. Scola Jr.

Robert N. Scola Jr.
Robert N. Scola Jr.
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; October 31, 2023
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
	In office; October 20, 2011 – October 31, 2023
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Paul Huck
Succeeded by	Ed Artau
Personal details
Born	October 30, 1955 (age 70); Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Brown University (BA); Boston College (JD)

Robert Nichols Scola Jr.^[1] (born October 30, 1955)^[2] is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Early life and education

Scola earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977 from Brown University and a Juris Doctor in 1980 from Boston College School of Law.^[3]^[4]

Career

From 1980 until 1986, Scola worked in the Miami-Dade Office of the State Attorney.^[3] From 1986 until 1995, he worked in private legal practice, both as a sole legal practitioner and also as a criminal defense attorney.^[3] In 1995, Scola became a judge on Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit presiding over criminal, civil and family law matters.^[3]^[4]

Federal judicial service

On May 4, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Scola to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Scola would fill the seat vacated by Judge Paul Huck, who took senior status in August 2010.^[5] The United States Senate confirmed Scola in a voice vote on October 19, 2011; he received his commission the following day. He assumed senior status on October 31, 2023.^[4] Scola retired on October 3, 2025.^[6]

Notable cases

On April 29, 2019, Scola, a cancer survivor, recused himself from a case against healthcare insurance company UnitedHealth Group#UnitedHealthcare, stating, that the company's denial of treatment was "immoral and barbaric" and that his opinions regarding would prevent him from "deciding this case fairly and impartially."^[7]

References

↑ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. June 22, 2011.
↑ "BIOGRAPHIES OF FEDERAL COURT JUDGES SITTING IN FLORIDA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
1 2 3 4 The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (May 4, 2011). "President Obama Nominates Six Judges to United States District Courts". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved May 7, 2011 – via National Archives.
1 2 3 Robert N. Scola Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
↑ The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (May 4, 2011). "Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved May 7, 2011 – via National Archives.
↑ "ADDENDUM to Case Management Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) Administrative Procedures October 3, 2025" (PDF). flsd.uscourts.gov. 2025-10-03. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
↑ Megan Flynn (May 1, 2019). "'Immoral and barbaric': Cancer-surviving judge blasts insurer for denying treatment". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-01-12.

External links

Robert N. Scola Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Robert N. Scola Jr. at Ballotpedia

Legal offices

Preceded by

Paul Huck

Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
2011–2023

Succeeded by

Ed Artau

[1] "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. June 22, 2011.

[2] "BIOGRAPHIES OF FEDERAL COURT JUDGES SITTING IN FLORIDA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2018.

[whgov_20110504-3] 1 2 3 4 The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (May 4, 2011). "President Obama Nominates Six Judges to United States District Courts". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved May 7, 2011 – via National Archives.

[fjc.gov-4] 1 2 3 Robert N. Scola Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

[5] The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (May 4, 2011). "Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved May 7, 2011 – via National Archives.

[6] "ADDENDUM to Case Management Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) Administrative Procedures October 3, 2025" (PDF). flsd.uscourts.gov. 2025-10-03. Retrieved 2026-05-11.

[7] Megan Flynn (May 1, 2019). "'Immoral and barbaric': Cancer-surviving judge blasts insurer for denying treatment". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-01-12.

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