Jose E. Martinez (Florida)

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Jose E. Martinez
	Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Progress
	Confirmed 233 days after nomination.
	Nominated: January 23, 2002
	ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
	Questionnaire:
	Hearing: July 23, 2002
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: July 31, 2002
	Confirmed: September 13, 2002
	Vote: Voice vote

Jose E. Martinez is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He joined the court in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.^[1]

Early life and education

Born in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, Martinez graduated from the University of Miami with his bachelor's degree in 1962 and from the University of Miami School of Law with his J.D. in 1965.^[1]

Military service

Martinez serve in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1964 to 1993, during which he served as a legal officer from 1965 to 1968.^[1]

Professional career

2002 - Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
1972-1974: Regional director, Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, U.S. Department of Justice
1970-2002: Private practice, Florida
1968-1970: Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Florida
1965: Law clerk in private practice^[1]

Judicial career

Southern District of Florida

Martinez was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2002 to a seat vacated by Edward Davis. The American Bar Association rated Martinez Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Martinez's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 23, 2002, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on July 31, 2002. Martinez was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on September 13, 2002, and he received his commission on September 17, 2002.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Noteworthy cases

Title VII discrimination case - Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2017)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit (Jameka K. Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, Charles Moss, et al., 15-15234)

Sitting by designation under 28 U.S.C. §292, Judge Martinez served on a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals with Judges William Pryor and Robin Rosenbaum in the case of Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, which was decided on March 10, 2017. In the case, the panel held that the circuit court's 1979 precedent, Blum v. Gulf Oil Corporation, bound the panel to hold that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation did not violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The full Eleventh Circuit declined to hear the case en banc. Lambda Legal, which represented Evans before the circuit panel, announced they would appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gender non-conformity claim
In his opinion for the panel, Judge Martinez affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded an order from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia dismissing Evans' action. Judge Martinez argued that the district court erred in dismissing Evans' gender non-conformity discrimination claim because the law permitted Evans to bring a separate discrimination claim for gender non-conformity. The court noted,^[4]

“

even though we hold ... that discrimination based on gender nonconformity is actionable, Evans’s 'pro se' complaint nevertheless failed to plead facts sufficient to create a plausible inference that she suffered discrimination. ... In other words, Evans did not provide enough factual matter to plausibly suggest that her decision to present herself in a masculine manner led to the alleged adverse employment actions. Therefore, while a dismissal of Evan's gender non-conformity claim would have been appropriate on this basis, these circumstances entitle Evans an opportunity to amend her complaint one time unless doing so would be futile ... and it cannot be said that any attempt to amend would be futile with respect to her gender non-conformity claim and possibly others. ... Discrimination based on failure to conform to a gender stereotype is sex-based discrimination. ... We hold that the lower court erred because a gender non-conformity claim is not 'just another way to claim discrimination based on sexual orientation,' but instead, constitutes a separate, distinct avenue for relief under Title VII.^[5]

”

Based on this understanding of the law, the court vacated the district court order dismissing this portion of Evans' claim and remanded to the district court to allow Evans to modify her petition alleging discrimination for gender non-conformity.

Sexual orientation discrimination
The panel next addressed Evans' claim that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Act) prohibited discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation. In his opinion, Judge Martinez noted that the Eleventh Circuit's 1979 precedent in Blum v. Gulf Oil Corporation, in which the court held that Title VII did not prevent discharge from a job on the basis of an employee's sexual orientation, prohibited the court from ruling in Evans' favor and that "under our prior precedent rule, we are bound to follow a binding precedent in this Circuit unless and until it is overruled by this court en banc or by the Supreme Court.”^[4]

Based on this understanding of the law, the court affirmed the district court's dismissal of Evans' claim that Title VII Civil Rights Act (Act) prohibited discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation.^[6]^[7]^[8]