Boyd & Jenerette is pleased to welcome Attorney Rodrigo M. Caruço to the firm.

After more than eleven years of service in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate, Rodrigo joined the firm in May 2023 as a Senior Associate with the Appellate Practice Group, working remotely from Orlando.

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, to a Madeiran mother and Mozambiquan father, Rodrigo grew up in Liberia, West Africa, until evacuated to the United States with his older sister as refugees due to what became one of the longest civil wars in Africa’s history.

Rodrigo became the first in his family to attend college and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Central Florida in 2006. He subsequently graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in 2010. While there, Rodrigo earned Book Awards (highest grade) in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Federal Jurisdiction, Advanced Appellate Advocacy, and Legal Research & Writing, graduating in the top 3% of his class of over 250 students. He also served as Lead Articles Editor for the Barry Law Review, and led the Moot Court Board as Chief Justice, while publishing his first of several scholarly articles in criminal, military, and constitutional law.

Upon graduation, Rodrigo served as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles E. “Chip” Erdmann on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the highest court in the military justice system. He then accepted his presidential commission to serve in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

During his time in uniform, Rodrigo served as a general counsel, prosecutor, trial defense counsel, and appellate defense counsel. In addition to hundreds of negotiated resolutions, Rodrigo’s litigation experience included over fifteen fully litigated trials in areas ranging from multi-million dollar fraud, extortion, larceny, drug abuse and distribution, and sexual assault. Just a few examples include such high profile cases such as prosecuting the Principal Security Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and representing a highly decorated Colonel in a multi-year investigation that garnered national media and Congressional attention after he negotiated all charges to be dismissed.

He is the first United States Air Force officer to be specifically trained by the Department of Justice through its Project SAFE Childhood program to specialize in child exploitation cases with a focus on maximizing digital forensic evidence, leading the United States Air Force to develop a service-wide approach to pro-active child exploitation investigations and prosecutions.

In his appellate assignment, Rodrigo represented Airmen before the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Supreme Court of the United States. While there, he represented over 100 clients and earned them relief at every level of the military appellate system.

Before his final assignment analyzing Freedom of Information Act administrative appeals for the Secretary of the Air Force, Rodrigo was most recently assigned to the Military Commissions Defense Organization. There, Rodrigo was personally selected to represent Mr. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in his military commission, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, currently detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facing the death penalty. During his assignment, Rodrigo traveled to Cuba several times to meet with his client, conduct additional investigation, and participate in proceedings.

Rodrigo is admitted to practice in Florida, the District of Columbia, the United States District Courts of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Beyond his professional life, Rodrigo focuses his attention on his family and is also a dedicated New England sports fan.

Click to learn more