{ "id": "epc9k86n78", "slug": "gerald-b-tjoflat", "title": "Gerald B. Tjoflat", "updated": "2026-10-15", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law" }, { "id": "society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3", "label": "Article III judges (district and appellate)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges", "label": "United States courts of appeals judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges.alpha-t-to-w", "label": "Surnames T to W", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges.alpha-t-to-w" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: United States courts of appeals judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges", "label": "United States courts of appeals judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Gerald B. Tjoflat, born 1929, is a senior United States circuit judge of the Eleventh Circuit, appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975 after serving on the district court.", "snippet": "Gerald B. Tjoflat, born 1929, is a senior United States circuit judge of the Eleventh Circuit, appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975 after serving on the district court.", "node": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.appeals-judges.alpha-t-to-w", "markdown": "# Gerald B. Tjoflat\n\nGerald Bard Tjoflat (born 1929) is an American jurist serving as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit since 2019.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) He was appointed to the district court by President Richard M. Nixon in 1970 and to the court of appeals by President Gerald Ford in 1975.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) He served as chief judge of the Eleventh Circuit from 1989 to 1996 and assumed senior status on November 19, 2019.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) |\n| Appointed by | Gerald Ford (Fifth Circuit, 1975); reassigned to the Eleventh Circuit in 1981[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) |\n| Confirmed | November 20, 1975, by voice vote[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) |\n| Senior status | November 19, 2019[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) |\n| Born | 1929, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) |\n| Education | LL.B., Duke University School of Law, 1957[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) |\n\n## Early life and education\n\nTjoflat was born in 1929 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) According to a 2020 profile in Judicature, he was born on December 6 to a Chilean mother and a second-generation Norwegian immigrant father, grew up in Pittsburgh, and worked summers on dairy farms owned by Norwegian relatives; baseball was his passion, and he pitched and received an offer from the [Cincinnati Reds](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati-reds) organization.[2](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/) In a 2022 conversation at Duke Law School, Tjoflat recounted that he began his undergraduate studies and started law school at the [University of Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-cincinnati) before being drafted into the infantry during the [Korean War](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-war), receiving his induction notice on the day of midyear exams.[3](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2022/10/a-conversation-with-judge-gerald-b-tjoflat/) He received his LL.B. from Duke University School of Law in 1957.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841)\n\n## Legal career\n\nTjoflat served in the [United States Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-army) as a corporal from 1953 to 1955.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) After law school, he practiced law privately in [Jacksonville, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacksonville-florida), from 1957 to 1968.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) In a 2022 conversation, he recalled that his firm began hiring Duke Law students in 1958 and became known in Jacksonville as \"a Duke firm.\"[3](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2022/10/a-conversation-with-judge-gerald-b-tjoflat/) He served as a judge on the Circuit Court of Florida, Fourth Judicial Circuit, from 1968 to 1970.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841)\n\n## Federal judicial service\n\nPresident Richard M. Nixon nominated Tjoflat on October 7, 1970, to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida; the Senate confirmed him by voice vote on October 13, 1970, and he received his commission on October 16, 1970.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) His district service ended on December 12, 1975, when he was appointed to another judicial position.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841)\n\nPresident [Gerald Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerald-ford) nominated Tjoflat on November 3, 1975, to the [United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-court-of-appeals-for-the-fifth-circuit), to a seat vacated by John Milton Bryan Simpson; the Senate confirmed him by voice vote on November 20, 1975, and his commission was issued on November 21, 1975.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) In a 2022 conversation, Tjoflat noted that his commission was countersigned by Attorney General Edward Levi.[3](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2022/10/a-conversation-with-judge-gerald-b-tjoflat/) His Fifth Circuit service ended on October 1, 1981, when he was reassigned to the newly created United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) • [4](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2025/06/judge-gerald-b-tjoflat-oral-history-project-reveals-key-insights-into-judges-career/) He served as chief judge of the Eleventh Circuit from 1989 to 1996, was a member of the [Judicial Conference of the United States](https://www.edgepedia.org/judicial-conference-of-the-united-states) from 1990 to 1996, and assumed senior status on November 19, 2019.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841) Duke Law's Bolch Judicial Institute describes him as one of the longest-serving federal appellate judges in United States history.[4](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2025/06/judge-gerald-b-tjoflat-oral-history-project-reveals-key-insights-into-judges-career/)\n\n## Notable cases\n\n**Mims v. Duval County School Board (1971).** Shortly after taking the district bench, Tjoflat took over a long-running school desegregation case in Jacksonville.[2](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/) After the Supreme Court's 1971 decision in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, he issued a directive requiring the Jacksonville school board to integrate its schools immediately, by busing where necessary, and gave the board one final chance to propose a plan.[2](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/) While the board drafted a new plan, he visited every school in the city to meet with faculty, students, and administrators, and held days of hearings in open court on the draft plan.[2](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/) On June 23, 1971, he issued an order directing mandatory reassignment of students into \"grade clusters\" across the city to achieve a racial mix of approximately 25 percent Black students, with busing only to the extent necessary to reach that balance; the judgment was affirmed on appeal.[2](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/) The ruling drew strong public opposition, including a billboard calling for Tjoflat's impeachment and death threats that required protection by United States Marshals for Tjoflat and his family.[2](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/) Of the experience, Tjoflat said, \"Enduring the public reaction to what I was assigned to do was much harder on the members of my family than it was on me. . . . \" and, \"At some point in my career in the judiciary, I learned that the more controversial a case may be — especially a case in which the public at large has a stake in the outcome — the more the process used to adjudicate the case is important.\"[2](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/)\n\n**Bush v. Gore (2000).** The Duke Law oral history project lists the contested 2000 presidential election case [Bush v. Gore](https://www.edgepedia.org/bush-v-gore) among the key moments of Tjoflat's career covered in the interviews.[4](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2025/06/judge-gerald-b-tjoflat-oral-history-project-reveals-key-insights-into-judges-career/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Tjoflat, Gerald Bard | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388841)\n2. [The 'Duke' of the Federal Court: Celebrating Gerald B. Tjoflat's 50 Years as a Federal Judge](https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/the-duke-of-the-federal-court-celebrating-gerald-b-tjoflats-50-years-as-a-federal-judge/)\n3. [Judgment Calls: A Conversation with Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2022/10/a-conversation-with-judge-gerald-b-tjoflat/)\n4. [Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat Oral History Project Reveals Key Insights into Judge's Career](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/2025/06/judge-gerald-b-tjoflat-oral-history-project-reveals-key-insights-into-judges-career/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › United States judges › US federal judges › Article III judges (district and appellate) › United States courts of appeals judges › Surnames T to W*\n\n*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 29, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/gerald-b-tjoflat", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/gerald-b-tjoflat.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. 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