Rodrigo Manuel Caruco

After more than eleven years of active duty service in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate, I returned home to Central Florida in 2023 to resume civilian life and strengthen my roots in my long missed community. To marry my best friend and to dive all in to support her goals. To start a family with the woman I deeply admire.

​My devotion to service continues to fuel my passion to fight for my community and comrades-in-arms.

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, to a Madeiran mother and Mozambiquan father, I grew up in Liberia, West Africa, until evacuated to the United States with my older sister because of what became one of the longest and most devastating civil wars in African history.

After graduating from Father Lopez High School in Daytona Beach, where many life lessons learned at home were fortunately reinforced by dedicated teachers and team sports, I became the first college graduate in my family when I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Central Florida in 2006. My passion for justice and devotion to the United States Constitution led me to study law at the Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, where I graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2010.

While earning my Juris Doctorate, I earned Book Awards (Highest Grade) in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Federal Jurisdiction, Advanced Appellate Advocacy, and Legal Writing. I served as Lead Articles Editor for the Barry Law Review and, while competing in the then-highest number of moot court competitions in school history, led the Moot Court Board as Chief Justice. All while publishing my first of several scholarly articles in criminal, military, and constitutional law.

Through all of this practical experience (to include internships and externships in criminal prosecution and clerkships esteemed state and federal judges) , I graduated in the top 3% of my class--of over 250 students.

Just prior to graduating from law school, I answered my nation's call and accepted a presidential commission to serve in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps. Valuing my potential, the United States Air Force approved a rare two year deferral to allow me to accept an offer to serve as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles E. "Chip" Erdmann on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the supreme court of the military justice system.

During my time in uniform, I served as a general counsel, prosecutor, trial defense counsel, and appellate defense counsel. In addition to nearly two hundred litigated and negotiated resolutions as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, as a young prosecutor, I was one of the first active-duty Air Force judge advocates to attend the Project SAFE Childhood seminar, taught by the Department of Justice at the National Advocacy Center. This course is normally only provided to federal prosecutors who specialize in serious offenses such as possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and a multitude of other offenses involving children commonly referred to child exploitation offenses.. I have relied on this training throughout my assignments representing Airmen, and I bring this training and experience to your case.

In my appellate assignment, I represented Airmen before the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Force, and the Supreme Court of the United States. I represented over 100 clients and earned them relief at every level of the military justice appellate system.

This litigation and appellate experience led me to be personally selected to represent Mr. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the still alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001, in his multi-defendant capital military commission, held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

My experience developed the skills necessary to understand how a criminal case goes from investigation all the way to final appeal. I have spent more than a decade developing a reputation for frankness, being able to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a criminal investigation and prosecution, negotiating a positive outcome when possible, and defending you at trial if necessary.

Though I hung up my boots when honorably discharged, I cannot surrender my duty to the community that welcomed me as a boy, and my brothers and sisters still at arms.

I am proud to represent you in an effort to bring about the best possible result in your case; to the end of the line if needed.