Hon. José M. Rodríguez
Administrative Judge, International Commercial Arbitration Division
Judge Rodríguez was appointed to the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in Florida by Governor Jeb Bush in 2000. Judge Rodríguez was previously a County Judge in the same Circuit appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles in 1994. He has served in the Complex Business Litigation, Criminal, and Family Divisions and he is presently assigned to the International Commercial Arbitration Division of which he is the Administrative Judge. He also serves in the Asbestos and Civil General Jurisdiction Trial and Appellate Divisions in the Circuit. Judge Rodriguez attended Indiana University (Maurer) School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana where he received his J.D. degree and Florida International University where he received his B.A. degree. Judge Rodriguez has been thrice nominated for judicial appointment to the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida and has been thrice considered for appointment by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
He is also an adjunct professor at the Florida International University, College of law since 2011 and teaches “Florida Civil Procedure” and “Law, Science and Technology”. He is also part of the Adjunct Faculty at Indiana University (Maurer) School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana and teaches “Courtroom Procedure”. Judge Rodriguez is a member of the faculty at the Florida International University Legal Studies Institute and teaches Introduction to the U.S. Legal System and U.S. Constitutional Law, since 1994.
Judge Rodriguez is a published author, his works include a “Florida Civil Procedure” Cases and Materials, Second Edition, text book, Carolina Academic Press and two practice treatises, “Florida Civil Procedure” and “Florida Evidence” with publisher Mathew Bender/Lexis Nexis. Judge Rodriguez is a former Faculty Instructor of the Florida Judicial College and is a former member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. He also presents seminars on behalf of the “National Business Institute” and he is a contributing author for the “What Civil Court Judges Want You To Know” manual being used at CLE seminars in various States around the Country by the National Business Institute. Judge Rodriguez also travels around the country as part of the “American Conference Institute” speaking on different areas of the law. Prior to his career on the bench, Judge Rodriguez was a trial lawyer from 1981 to 1994.