Elizabeth A. Kovachevich

Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich (born December 14, 1936)[1] is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Assumed office
December 14, 2018
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
In office
1996–2002
Preceded byJohn H. Moore II
Succeeded byPatricia C. Fawsett
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
In office
March 9, 1982 – December 14, 2018
Appointed byRonald Reagan
Preceded byGeorge C. Young
Succeeded byJohn Badalamenti
Judge for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida
In office
1973–1982
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich

(1936-12-14) December 14, 1936
Canton, Illinois
EducationSt. Petersburg College (A.A.)
University of Miami (B.B.A.)
Stetson University College of Law (J.D.)

Education and career

Born in Canton, Illinois, Kovachevich earned an Associate of Arts degree from St. Petersburg Junior College (now St. Petersburg College) in 1956 and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami in 1958. She then earned a Juris Doctor in 1961 from Stetson University College of Law. Kovachevich worked in private law practice in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1961 until 1973, when she was elected a judge of the State of Florida's Sixth Judicial Circuit. Kovachevich was the first female judge on the Sixth Judicial Circuit, and she served as a state judge in Florida until 1982.[2]

May 21, 1971 protest against Elizabeth Kovachevich

Controversy

Kovachevich was a member of the Florida Board of Regents (BOR) in 1970 when the board ended curfews for women in dormitories. The residents also wanted to change the rules to allow visitation by males, which displeased Kovachevich greatly. During a speech at the Clearwater Rotary Club in May 1971, she stated that dorms were becoming “taxpayers whorehouses.” The BOR chairman called her statement offensive, but the students at Florida State University were outraged. On May 21, 1971, hundreds of female students protested by marching to the Capitol, carrying signs mocking Kovachevich.[3][4][5]

Federal judicial service

Failed nomination under Ford

On June 8, 1976, President Gerald Ford nominated Kovachevich to a seat on a federal district court, according to an October 12, 1976 memo to Ford by his personnel director, Douglas Bennett. The United States Senate never acted on Kovachevich's nomination before Ford's presidency ended. Her nomination was blocked through a custom known as senatorial courtesy because the Democratic Party controlled the Senate, and Florida's Senators, Lawton Chiles and Richard Stone, Democrats, opposed her confirmation. Ford's successor, President Jimmy Carter, elected not to renominate Kovachevich.

Renomination under Reagan

Kovachevich was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on January 26, 1982, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida vacated by Judge George C. Young. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 4, 1982, and received commission on March 9, 1982. She served as Chief Judge from 1996 to 2002.[2] Kovachevich is based in Tampa, Florida.[6] She assumed senior status on December 14, 2018, her 82nd birthday.[2]

See also

References
  1. "BIOGRAPHIES OF FEDERAL COURT JUDGES SITTING IN FLORIDA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  2. "Kovachevich, Elizabeth Anne - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  3. "Florida State student demonstration". floridamemory.com. State of Florida. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. Benton, Tara. "Student Activism on FSU Campus" (PDF). myweb.fsu.edu. Florida State University. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. Andelman, Bob. "Elizabeth Kovachevich The Judge is a Lady (Tampa Bay Life)". andelman.com. Bob Andelman. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  6. Wade-Bahr, Linda H. "Official Site of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida". www.flmd.uscourts.gov.
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