 From 2011 to 2014, he served as a Circuit Court Judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit.On February 6, 2014, President Obama nominated Mendoza to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, to the seat vacated by Judge John Antoon II, who took senior status on June 3, 2013.He received a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on April 1, 2014.