Left-backed Judge who blocked the Trump Presidential Library is replaced on the bench by 30-y/o conservative Attorney Destiny Alvarez.
Alvarez defeated the longtime incumbent in the nonpartisan race for the 11th Judicial Circuit’s Group 67 seat.
Alvarez defeated Ruiz by 2,073 votes and crossed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a November runoff, according to Florida’s official election-night reporting system.
The contest became one of Florida’s most politically explosive judicial races after Ruiz inserted herself into the fight over President Trump’s planned presidential library.
In October 2025, Ruiz issued a temporary injunction blocking Miami Dade College from transferring a 2.63-acre parcel beside the historic Freedom Tower for the library project.
The injunction came after left-wing activist Marvin Dunn sued the college, alleging its Board of Trustees failed to provide sufficient public notice before approving the transfer under Florida’s Sunshine Law.
The valuable Biscayne Boulevard property was appraised at more than $67 million and sits near Biscayne Bay and the arena used by the Miami Heat.
Ruiz later dismissed Dunn’s complaint after the college held another publicly noticed meeting and voted unanimously for the transfer a second time. The judge claimed her decisions were based strictly on Florida’s open-government law and were not political. WLRN reported that the complaint was dismissed without prejudice in December.
But the damage was done.
The high-profile ruling turned Ruiz’s otherwise sleepy reelection campaign into a referendum on activist judges, President Trump, and the rapidly changing political landscape in Miami-Dade County.
Although judicial elections in Florida are officially nonpartisan, the political contrast between the candidates could hardly have been clearer.
Alvarez is a registered Republican and a member of the Federalist Society. Her campaign emphasized that judges should follow the Constitution, apply the law faithfully, and refuse to “legislate from the bench.”
She also received backing from law enforcement and first-responder organizations, including the Miami-Dade Fraternal Order of Police, the Police Benevolent Association, the Hialeah Police Officers Association, and the South Florida Council of Firefighters, according to her campaign website.
Ruiz, meanwhile, was recommended by left-wing organizations, including the Miami Beach Democratic Club and the Miami Democratic Socialists of America.
Alvarez previously served as a Florida Gubernatorial Fellow and is the managing partner of the Miami office of Goede, DeBoest & Cross. She earned her law degree and undergraduate economics degree from the University of Florida.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet unanimously approved the parcel for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation in September 2025.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/08/florida-fafo-left-backed-judge-who-blocked-trump/
While I get the appeal of replacing a liberal judge for a conservative one I wish she had a bit more experience.
ReplyDeleteHow much experience can she have at 30? 4 years of college, 3 years for her JD. At best she could have passed her Bar exam at 25. Making her a judge at 30 seems like giving too much power to someone that does not yet have the experience needed.
So you would rather have the experienced liberal anti-American judge back in power.
DeleteThat is the option here in this case.
Anon 10:51. I've also seen experiencd (so-called) conservative judges screw the pooch. Ex: Amy Coney-Barrett on more than one occasion.(never trust a woman who hyphenates her name)
DeleteBest approach to this is wait and watch.
-lg
I deleted that stupid shit from Anon. I ain't got time for that crap.
DeleteI would say as long any adjudication is based on law and some common sense party and age is not imperative. But with age comes wisdom which sometimes still eludes me.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Toot. But when I looked at her history, she looked okay. You can never be guaranteed of decisions they will make, we have good and bad examples. But I would still rather be rid of the liberal.
DeleteYou're not the only one wisdom eludes, don't feel like the Lone Ranger.
Well, many of the founders were quite young men themselves and it worked out well...
ReplyDeleteTom762
Have you met a 30 year old lately?
DeleteYes sir, Mr. Tom, some of the founders were barely out of their teens and I think their results were spectacular.
DeleteI'll take the "unknowns" from a young conservative judge over the "knowns" of an older leftist/activist judge any day. Only time will tell for sure, but I've got $20 that says she'll be 1,000% better than the person that she'll be replacing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you B.C. ... 1,000%.
DeleteAs an addendum, not knowing all of the intricacies of the original lawsuit by the Leftist asshat trying to block the Trump library on ANY grounds, the judge might very well have been correct on her original ruling vis-a-vis the comments period, IF someone in the local government forgot to post a "comments period" notification within the VERY specific time frame as required by FL law. Even the most innocuous topics can lead to shitshows if the local government drops the ball on public notifications. (The person responsible had a sick kid or was out on vacation and it got forgotten/lost in the 500+ emails received each day.)
ReplyDeleteIt's just sad that Trump has to deal with this crap every decision he makes. I thought something had been done to keep these local TDS liberal judges being able to block his every move, but I guess not.
DeleteThat'll only happen after enough tree limbs and hemp are utilized appropriately. 😎
DeleteWell then, we need to start throwing some hemp over some tree limbs.
Delete