12 Facts About Barbara Pariente

Barbara Joan Pariente was born on December 24,1948 and is an attorney and jurist from Florida.

Barbara Pariente was chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court from July 1,2004, until June 30,2006.

Barbara Pariente attended public schools in New York and lived in Tenafly, New Jersey, where she graduated from Tenafly High School in 1966.

Barbara Pariente attended Boston University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with the highest honors.

Barbara Pariente later attended the George Washington University Law School, receiving her Juris Doctor in 1973, graduating fifth in her class, and was elected a member of the Order of the Coif.

In 1973, Pariente moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a two-year clerkship under Judge Norman C Roettger, Jr.

Barbara Pariente was a founding member and master of the Palm Beach County chapter of the American Inns of Court and was a longtime member of the board of directors of the Palm Beach County chapter of the Legal Aid Society.

In September 1993, Barbara Pariente was appointed to Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal by Governor Lawton Chiles.

Barbara Pariente served on the district appellate court until December 10,1997, when Chiles appointed her a justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

Barbara Pariente was a member of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Character Education and the Florida Bar's Commission on the Legal Needs of Children.

In March 2003, Barbara Pariente was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical double mastectomy and a full course of chemotherapy.

In January 2006, Pariente authored a decision in Jeb Bush v Ruth Holmes, ruling Florida's Opportunity Scholarship Program offering children in failing public schools their choice of an alternative school including a private or parochial school unconstitutional.