Elizabeth A. Kovachevich

Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich (born December 14, 1936) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Education and career Born in Canton, Illinois, Kovachevich earned an Associate of Arts degree from St. Petersburg Junior College (now St. Petersburg College) in 1956 and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami in 1958. She then earned a Juris Doctor in 1961 from Stetson University College of Law. Kovachevich worked in private law practice in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1961 until 1973, when she was elected a judge of the State of Florida's Sixth Judicial Circuit. Kovachevich was the first female judge on the Sixth Judicial Circuit, and she served as a state judge in Florida until 1982. Controversy Kovachevich was a member of the Florida Board of Regents (BOR) in 1970 when the board ended curfews for women in dormitories. The residents also wanted to change the rules to allow visitation by males, which displeased Kovachevich greatly. During a speech at the Clearwater Rotary Club in May 1971, she stated that dorms were becoming “taxpayers whorehouses.” The BOR chairman called her statement offensive, but the students at Florida State University were outraged. On May 21, 1971, hundreds of female students protested by marching to the Capitol, carrying signs mocking Kovachevich.