Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia is a study in contrasts.

A devout Catholic and firm upholder of the law, Sampedro-Iglesia nonetheless granted custody of a child to a gay mother despite a state law prohibiting such adoptions. In her order, the judge said unequivocally “there is no rational connection between sexual orientation and what is or is not in the best interest of a child.”