Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola believed that she would be a doctor just like her father and her brother. To everyone in her family, it seemed that it would be the natural career choice. Well everyone except her mother that is. Her mother, who worked for The Washington Post when the judge was a little girl, believed that her daughter might take a different career path. It was because of her mother's career choice that Judge Hogan Scola as a child was a witness to history. She was present when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his unforgettable "I Have a Dream" speech as her mother covered the event.

  

"In college I changed majors about half a dozen times. I thought that I would be a professional dabbler," she recalls amused. Instead of dabbling she decided to go to law school.

  

Judge Hogan Scola received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Florida. She received her J.D. degree from the University of Miami in 1982.

  

"I was offered a very good job at a civil firm when I graduated from law school but I didn't take it because I wanted to litigate," she explains.

  

She applied to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office and got the job."I think that I was hired partially because as an Army Reservist in college I was able to take apart and reassemble an M-16 rifle in less than two minutes!" she exclaims with a laugh. "Janet Reno seemed impressed by this during my interview with her."

  

"I started at the SAO in 1982 and was hired through a federal grant that the office received to hire about 40-60 people. I fell in love with the job."

  

"It was wonderful. We went to court and watched great Assistant State Attorneys in trial. We learned by watching them prosecute the tough cases."

  

There are many happy memories of that time and to this day, some of the Judge's best friends are from her time at the SAO. It was a very collegial atmosphere. On Fridays after work we would go out to eat and unwind. We even helped each other move!"

  

Though there are warm memories, Judge Hogan Scola also remembers that it wasn't easy being a woman prosecutor. "It was a different time back then and we had to deal with sexist beliefs and behaviors in the courtroom and in society."

  

"We female prosecutors all knew that we had to prove ourselves in the early 1980's," reflected State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "It created a special bond among all of us working for Janet Reno. But it was our determination to move Florida's legal system forward that opened the door for so many qualified women to advance as attorneys and advance to positions of leadership in our legal system today".

  

Judge Hogan Scola served throughout the office in County Court, Juvenile and the Felony Division. She eventually earned a position as a Major Crimes prosecutor. During her 13 years at the SAO she enjoyed teaching litigation skills at the University of Miami which she still does to this day. She also got married and had two children during her time at the SAO.

  

Judge Hogan Scola remembers trying a Domestic Violence homicide case before Judge Carney. "I got to know the victim's family. We convicted their daughter's killer. They were very appreciative of the work we did. When I had a baby, they sent me flowers. They actually followed my career over the years. This was very gratifying for me."

  

In 1995, she joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, where she served for eight years before becoming a Circuit Court Judge in 2003.

  

"I decided to become a judge about five years before I ran for office. I started preparing by going out into the community and getting to know people and organizations and having them get to know me. My goal was to become a judge by the age of 50 and I did."

  

Judge Hogan Scola admits that she is very formal in the courtroom and a stickler for professionalism. "Everyone is treated with equal respect. I am clear that Judges do not have total authority. They only have the authority given by statute, rule or case law. I require that the attorneys before me present all the appropriate authority."

  

Though she began as a Judge in the Criminal Division, she is currently the Associate Administrative Judge in the Civil Division. She enjoys the variety of issues found in civil cases.

  

Judge Hogan Scola's advice to young prosecutors is to focus on the facts and on the law.

  

Judge Hogan Scola is not only active in her professional life but also in her personal life. She has always been into health and fitness. She is a runner, has studied dance, takes spinning and practices yoga.