Soraya Diase Coffelt (born August 29, 1958) is a lawyer and former judge of the United States Virgin Islands Superior Court. She was the first woman and first Hispanic from St. Thomas to serve as a judge.[1]
Soraya Diase Coffelt | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 29, 1958 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Gordon Coffelt (1984–2013) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Texas, Austin (BA) Cornell University (JD) University of Nevada, Reno (MJur) |
| Website | Official website |
This biographical article is written like a résumé. (November 2022) |
Coffelt developed the V.I. High School Moot Court Competition in 1994, which is an annual, interscholastic competition for high school seniors, with winners receiving college scholarships.[2]
Early life and education
editSoraya Diase Coffelt was born in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, to lower-middle-class parents, who were small business owners.[3] Coffelt earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with honors in 1978. She then attended Cornell Law School and graduated in 1981 with a Juris Doctor degree. Coffelt attended the University of Nevada at Reno and the National Judicial College, where she earned a degree of Master of Judicial Studies, with a major in trial judges, in 2001.[4][5]
Publications
editIn 2014, she published her first book for children titled It's Not About You, Mr. Santa Claus- A Love Letter About The True Meaning Of Christmas.[6][7] In 2015, Coffelt announced that the second and third books in the "It's Not About You" series would be released.[3] It's Not About You, Mr. Pumpkin- A Love Letter About the True Meaning of Halloween will tell the story of the true origins of Halloween. It's Not About You, Mrs. Turkey- A Love Letter About The True Meaning of Thanksgiving will tell the story of the origins of Thanksgiving.
2014 Virgin Islands gubernatorial campaign
editCoffelt, an Independent candidate, ran with John Canegata, a registered Republican, as an "Independent" or "no party" team for governor and lieutenant governor in the November, 2014 gubernatorial election.[8] This was the first time in Virgin Islands history that such a dual candidacy team had occurred.[9] The supervisor of elections had initially disqualified the team, but they filed suit and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed their candidacy pursuant to Virgin Islands law.[10] The team finished in third place in the general election held on November 4, 2014.[11]
Diase-Coffelt was announced as the territory's attorney general on December 30, 2014, but resigned the post very shortly thereafter, stating that she would not serve as a "puppet" for Gov. Mapp.[12][13][14][15]
Personal life
editCoffelt met her husband Gordon on St. Thomas. Her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and died in 2013. They had been married for 29 years.
References
edit- ^ Judge Soraya Diase Coffelt - Justicevi.org at It's Your Perspective Talk Show; published March 18, 2015; retrieved July 8, 2015
- ^ Bar Association Recognizes Former Judge Coffelt for Creating Moot Court Competition at St. Croix Source; published May 8, 2013; retrieved April 21, 2015
- ^ a b Meet Soraya Diase Coffelt, Candidate for Governor at In The Authors Corner; by Etienne; published 2014; retrieved May 19, 2015
- ^ The National Judicial College
- ^ Testimony of Soraya Diase Coffelt, Attorney at Law[permanent dead link] at Legal Virgin Island; published April 23, 2015; retrieved July 8, 2015
- ^ "It's Not about You Mr. Santa Claus, Soraya Diase Coffelt Tea Seroya (Illustrated ) - Shop Online for Books in Australia". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
- ^ "Soraya Diase Coffelt - Books, Biography, Contact Information".
- ^ Diase Coffelt For Governor
- ^ Political Organization Notice of Section 527 Status at IRS.gov; published 2013; retrieved 2014
- ^ Diase Coffelt Wins Elections Challenge in Appeals Court at St. Thomas Source; by James Gardner; published August 28, 2014; retrieved April 21, 2015
- ^ Virgin Islands 2014 General Election
- ^ BREAKING: ATTORNEY GENERAL SORAYA DIASE-COFFELT RESIGNS at VI Consortium; by Cynthia Graham; published January 15, 2015; retrieved May 19, 2015
- ^ Soraya Diase Coffelt Press Conference Archived 2015-03-16 at the Wayback Machine at St. Croix Source; by James Gardner; retrieved May 19, 2015
- ^ Governor-elect Mapp announced several Cabinet nominees; published December 30, 2014; retrieved May 19, 2015
- ^ Diase Coffelt says she refused to be Mapp's puppet at Virgin Island Daily News; by Aldeth Lewin; published January 24, 2015; retrieved July 8, 2015