Judge Gerald Tjoflat

Judge Tjoflat is the longest serving judge in active-service on the Eleventh Circuit and the longest serving active circuit judge in the United States. Judge Tjoflat was actually appointed to the Fifth Circuit by President Gerald Ford, but was transferred to the Eleventh after the circuit split.  He is the only one of Judge Ford's eleven circuit court appointees still on active service (unless one counts Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was appointed to the Ninth Circuit by Ford, but later elevated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan).  Oddly enough, three of President Ford's eleven appointees were to the Eleventh Circuit--he also nominated Judge James Hill and Judge Peter Fay.

Judge Tjoflat previously served as the circuit's chief judge and has been a consistent supporter of keeping the Eleventh Circuit small.  It's twelve authorized judgeships make it mid-sized amongst circuit courts, even though it is one of the very busiest circuits.  This is probably an artifact of Judge Tjoflat's experience serving on the bloated Fifth Circuit prior to its split.

He is a conservative judge, and has been so throughout his tenure. He was originally a district judge appointed by President Nixon.  There are a few occasions when he will write special concurrences and/or dissents that are not joined by many (or any) members of the Court, so it is fair to say that he sometimes exhibits an iconoclastic streak.  His opinions typically contain lots of footnotes and are very thorough, and he has rightly gained a reputation as a judicial giant on the Eleventh Circuit.