United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

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United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
(S.D. Fla.)
Appeals to Eleventh Circuit
Established February 23, 1847
Judges assigned 18
Chief judge Federico A. Moreno
Official site

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in case citations, S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl.) is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida.

Appeals from cases brought in the Southern District of Florida are to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

Contents

[edit] History

On the same day that Florida was admitted as a state, March 3, 1845, Congress enacted legislation creating the United States District Court for the District of Florida, 5 Stat. 788.[1][2] On February 23, 1847, this District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts, by 9 Stat. 131.[1][2] The statute effecting this division set forth the boundaries of the Districts:

[T]hat part of the State of Florida lying south of a line drawn due east and west from the northern point of Charlotte Harbor, including the islands, keys, reefs, shoals, harbors, bays and inlets, south of said line, shall be erected into a new judicial district, to be called the Southern District of Florida; a District Court shall be held in said Southern District, to consist of one judge, who shall reside at Key West, in said district...

On July 30, 1962 the Middle District was created from portions of these districts by 76 Stat. 247.[2]

Famous cases that have been heard in the district include Bush v. Gore, United States v. Noriega (the prosecution of the former Manuel Noriega), González v. Reno (the Elián González case), and United States v. José Padilla (the prosecution of José Padilla).

[edit] Jurisdiction

The court's jurisdiction comprises the counties of Broward, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie. The district includes the South Florida metropolitan area of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. It comprises 15,197 square miles (39,360 km2)and approximately 6.3 million people. Court offices are in Miami, Florida.

[edit] Judges

Sixty-one judges have served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, according to the Federal Judicial Center. The Court has 18 authorized judgeships, filled by judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

As of February 24, 2009, a vacancy exists in the District due to the decision of Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley to assume senior status. No replacement nomination is pending at this time.

Six judges who have taken senior status are eligible to continue hearing cases. One senior district judge is retired. As of July 1, 2007, the chief judge of the district is Judge Federico A. Moreno, succeeding Judge William J. Zloch.

The District Judges (active and senior) sitting as of 2008 are:

Name Appointed Appointed by
Chief Judge Federico A. Moreno 1990   George H. W. Bush
Senior District Judge James Lawrence King 1970   Richard Nixon
Senior District Judge William Hoeveler 1977   Jimmy Carter
Senior District Judge Jose Alejandro Gonzalez, Jr. 1978   Jimmy Carter
Senior District Judge James Carriger Paine (retired) 1979   Jimmy Carter
District Judge William J. Zloch 1985   Ronald Reagan
Senior District Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp 1986   Ronald Reagan
District Judge Donald L. Graham 1991   George H. W. Bush
Senior District Judge Shelby Highsmith 1991   George H. W. Bush
District Judge Kevin Michael Moore 1992   George H. W. Bush
District Judge Ursula Mancusi Ungaro 1992   George H. W. Bush
Senior District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley 1994   Bill Clinton
District Judge Joan A. Lenard 1995   Bill Clinton
District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks 1997   Bill Clinton
District Judge Alan Stephen Gold 1997   Bill Clinton
District Judge William Dimitrouleas 1998   Bill Clinton
District Judge Patricia A. Seitz 1998   Bill Clinton
District Judge Adalberto Jordan 1999   Bill Clinton
District Judge Paul C. Huck 2000   Bill Clinton
District Judge Jose E. Martinez 2002   George W. Bush
District Judge Kenneth Marra 2002   George W. Bush
District Judge James I. Cohn 2003   George W. Bush
District Judge Cecilia Altonaga 2003   George W. Bush
District Judge Marcia G. Cooke 2004   George W. Bush

Judges who have served this court include:

Judge Appointed by Began active
service		 Ended active
service		 Ended senior
status		 End reason
Alexander Akerman Calvin Coolidge 01929-02-15 February 15, 1929 01939-10-08 October 8, 1939 01948-08-21 August 21, 1948 death
Cecilia Altonaga George W. Bush 02003-05-07 May 7, 2003 Incumbent – –
Sidney M. Aronovitz Gerald Ford 01976-09-21 September 21, 1976 01988-10-31 October 31, 1988 01997-01-08 January 8, 1997 death
C. Clyde Atkins Lyndon B. Johnson 01966-07-22 July 22, 1966 01982-12-31 December 31, 1982 01999-03-11 March 11, 1999 death
William Julius Barker Franklin D. Roosevelt 01940-02-05 February 5, 1940 01959-04-30 April 30, 1959 01968-04-13 April 13, 1968 death
Thomas Jefferson Boynton Abraham Lincoln 01863-10-19 October 19, 1863[3] 01870-01-01 January 1, 1870 – resignation
Ted Cabot Lyndon B. Johnson 01966-08-11 August 11, 1966 01971-12-04 December 4, 1971 – death
Rhydon Mays Call Woodrow Wilson 01913-03-28 March 28, 1913[4] 01927-12-15 December 15, 1927 – death
John Moses Cheney William Howard Taft 01912-08-26 August 26, 1912[5] 01913-03-03 March 3, 1913 – not confirmed
Emett Clay Choate Dwight D. Eisenhower 01954-07-20 July 20, 1954 01965-01-31 January 31, 1965 01974-08-14 August 14, 1974 death
James I. Cohn George W. Bush 02003-08-01 August 1, 2003 Incumbent – –
Marcia G. Cooke George W. Bush 02004-05-18 May 18, 2004 Incumbent – –
Edward B. Davis Jimmy Carter 01979-10-05 October 5, 1979 02000-06-30 June 30, 2000 – retirement
Dozier A. DeVane Franklin D. Roosevelt 01943-04-22 April 22, 1943 01947-10-01 October 1, 1947 – assignment to another court
William Dimitrouleas Bill Clinton 01998-05-22 May 22, 1998 Incumbent – –
David W. Dyer John F. Kennedy 01961-09-18 September 18, 1961 01966-09-22 September 22, 1966 – reappointment
Joe Oscar Eaton Lyndon B. Johnson 01967-06-12 June 12, 1967 01985-04-02 April 2, 1985 02008-09-28 September 28, 2008 death
Peter T. Fay Richard Nixon 01970-10-16 October 16, 1970 01976-10-08 October 8, 1976 – reappointment
Wilkie D. Ferguson Bill Clinton 01993-11-22 November 22, 1993 02003-06-09 June 9, 2003 – death
Charles B. Fulton John F. Kennedy 01963-04-26 April 26, 1963 01978-06-30 June 30, 1978 01996-05-15 May 15, 1996 death
Alan Stephen Gold Bill Clinton 01997-07-01 July 1, 1997 Incumbent – –
Jose Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. Jimmy Carter 01978-07-28 July 28, 1978 01996-11-30 November 30, 1996 Incumbent –
Donald L. Graham George H. W. Bush 01991-09-16 September 16, 1991 Incumbent – –
Alcee Hastings Jimmy Carter 01979-11-02 November 2, 1979 01989-10-20 October 20, 1989 – impeachment and conviction
Shelby Highsmith George H. W. Bush 01991-09-16 September 16, 1991 02002-03-15 March 15, 2002 Incumbent –
William Hoeveler Jimmy Carter 01977-04-26 April 26, 1977 01991-01-31 January 31, 1991 Incumbent –
John W. Holland Franklin D. Roosevelt 01936-06-01 June 1, 1936 01955-07-01 July 1, 1955 01969-11-14 November 14, 1969 death
Paul Huck Bill Clinton 02000-07-11 July 11, 2000 Incumbent – –
Daniel T.K. Hurley Bill Clinton 01994-03-11 March 11, 1994 02009-02-24 February 24, 2009 Incumbent –
Lake Jones Calvin Coolidge 01924-02-18 February 18, 1924 01930-06-07 June 7, 1930 – death
Adalberto Jordan Bill Clinton 01999-09-09 September 9, 1999 Incumbent – –
James W. Kehoe Jimmy Carter 01979-10-05 October 5, 1979 01992-10-16 October 16, 1992 01998-12-13 December 13, 1998 death
James Lawrence King Richard Nixon 01970-10-19 October 19, 1970 01992-12-20 December 20, 1992 Incumbent –
Joan A. Lenard Bill Clinton 01995-12-26 December 26, 1995 Incumbent – –
Joseph Patrick Lieb Dwight D. Eisenhower 01955-08-13 August 13, 1955[6] 01962-10-29 October 29, 1962 – assignment to another court
James William Locke Ulysses S. Grant 01872-02-01 February 1, 1872 01912-07-04 July 4, 1912 – retirement
Stanley Marcus Ronald Reagan 01985-07-18 July 18, 1985 01997-11-23 November 23, 1997 – reappointment
Kenneth Marra George W. Bush 02002-09-13 September 13, 2002 Incumbent – –
Jose E. Martinez George W. Bush 02002-09-17 September 17, 2002 Incumbent – –
William Marvin James K. Polk 01847-03-03 March 3, 1847 01863-07-01 July 1, 1863 – resignation
John McKinney Ulysses S. Grant 01870-11-08 November 8, 1870[7] 01871-10-12 October 12, 1871 – death
William McRae John F. Kennedy 01961-03-08 March 8, 1961 01962-10-29 October 29, 1962 – assignment to another court
William O. Mehrtens Lyndon B. Johnson 01965-09-01 September 1, 1965 01975-09-15 September 15, 1975 01980-07-16 July 16, 1980 death
Donald M. Middlebrooks Bill Clinton 01997-05-27 May 27, 1997 Incumbent – –
Kevin Michael Moore George H. W. Bush 01992-02-10 February 10, 1992 Incumbent – –
Federico A. Moreno George H. W. Bush 01990-07-16 July 16, 1990 Incumbent – –
Lenore Carrero Nesbitt Ronald Reagan 01983-11-16 November 16, 1983 01998-07-19 July 19, 1998 02001-10-06 October 6, 2001 death
James Carriger Paine Jimmy Carter 01979-10-05 October 5, 1979 01992-05-20 May 20, 1992 Incumbent –
Halsted L. Ritter Calvin Coolidge 01929-02-15 February 15, 1929 01936-04-17 April 17, 1936 – impeachment and conviction
Norman Charles Roettger, Jr. Richard Nixon 01972-06-02 June 2, 1972 01997-06-17 June 17, 1997 02003-07-26 July 26, 2003 death
Kenneth Ryskamp Ronald Reagan 01986-04-24 April 24, 1986 02000-01-01 January 1, 2000 Incumbent –
Thomas E. Scott, Jr. Ronald Reagan 01985-07-18 July 18, 1985 01990-10-31 October 31, 1990 – resignation
Patricia A. Seitz Bill Clinton 01998-10-01 October 1, 1998 Incumbent – –
John Milton Bryan Simpson Harry S. Truman 01950-09-26 September 26, 1950 01962-10-29 October 29, 1962 – assignment to another court
Eugene P. Spellman Jimmy Carter 01979-10-05 October 5, 1979 01991-05-04 May 4, 1991 – death
Louie Willard Strum Herbert Hoover 01931-03-02 March 2, 1931 01950-10-03 October 3, 1950 – reappointment
Ursula Mancusi Ungaro George H. W. Bush 01992-10-09 October 9, 1992 Incumbent – –
Curtis L. Waller Franklin D. Roosevelt 01940-06-19 June 19, 1940 01943-03-12 March 12, 1943 – reappointment
George William Whitehurst Harry S. Truman 01950-02-23 February 23, 1950 01961-06-30 June 30, 1961 01974-01-13 January 13, 1974 death
George C. Young John F. Kennedy 01961-09-18 September 18, 1961 01966-09-17 September 17, 1966 – assignment to another court
William J. Zloch Ronald Reagan 01985-11-04 November 4, 1985 Incumbent – –

This federal district has the dubious distinction of having had more judges removed through impeachment than any other district, with a total of two, one-third of all federal district judges so removed.

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney for the district is R. Alexander Acosta. However, Acosta has accepted the Deanship of the Florida International University College of Law, which will render the position vacant.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 393.
  2. ^ a b c U.S. District Courts of Florida, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
  3. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1864, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 20, 1864, and received commission on January 20, 1864.
  4. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on April 12, 1913, confirmed by the United States Senate on April 24, 1913, and received commission on April 24, 1913.
  5. ^ Recess appointment; the United States Senate did not confirm the appointment.
  6. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 12, 1956, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 1, 1956, and received commission on March 2, 1956.
  7. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 7, 1870, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 18, 1871, and received commission on February 18, 1871.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_Florida"