Cecilia María Altonaga (born December 26, 1962) is the Chief United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida 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 territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida.. Appeals ...

. She is the first

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or ...

woman to be appointed as a federal judge in the United States.

Biography

Altonaga was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, to parents who escaped from the communist regime in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

.Lisette Garcia,
County judge attains new benchmark
, ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Notre Dame Academy in Miami, graduating in 1980, and then received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

in 1983, and a J.D. from the

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & World ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

in 1986. She worked as an attorney in the Miami Dade County Attorney's Office from 1986 to 1987, and then served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Edward B. Davis of the

from 1987 to 1988 before returning to the County Attorney's Office as an assistant County Attorney until 1996. In 1996, Governor

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...

appointed her as a County Court Judge on

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

's Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court. In 1999, she was elevated to circuit court judge in that district by Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

Federal judicial service

On January 15, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Altonaga to be a United States district judge of the

. She was nominated to the seat vacated by

Shelby Highsmith Shelby Highsmith (January 31, 1929 – December 2, 2015) was an American lawyer and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Education and career Highsmith was born on January 31 ...

who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on March 15, 2002. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

on May 6, 2003, and received her commission the following day. During her time on the federal bench, Altonaga has been noted for her strong support of the recently created

Florida International University College of Law The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is the only public law sch ...

, having served as the keynote speaker in the 2004 Convocation, judged several

moot court Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In most countries, the phrase " ...

competitions, and employed FIU law students as summer

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gove ...

s. She became Chief Judge on July 1, 2021.

Notable cases and rulings

On June 14, 2007, Altonaga ruled that

US Sugar Corporation U.S. Sugar Corporation is a privately owned agricultural business based in Clewiston, Florida. The company farms over 230,000 acres of land in the counties of Hendry, Glades, Martin, and Palm Beach. It is the largest producer of sugarcane ...

's practice of pumping untreated

wastewater Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial ...

into

Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwa ...

was in violation of the

Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...

. Largely as a result of this decision, on June 25, 2008 the state of Florida announced plans to purchase of land controlled by US Sugar, which will be used to restore vital water flow between

and the

Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east ...

, helping to ensure its survival in the face of competition for water from surrounding development. She also presided over the trial of Charles McArthur Emmanuel, son of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, for torture. In September 2006, Dubai Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( ar, محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم, links=no; ; born 15 July 1949) is the vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the ruler of Dubai ...

was accused of encouraging the abduction and enslavement of thousands of boys for use as jockeys in

camel racing Camel racing is a popular sport in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Mongolia and Australia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds ...

. A

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

suit was filed in the state of Florida in the United States. In July 2007, Altonaga granted a motion to dismiss the suit because none of the involved parties resided in the United States. In 2012, Altonaga disqualified the entire firm of Morgan & Morgan PA from a class action suit for "deplorable behavior" including insisting on holding depositions in a

Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in ...

, appearing at depositions dressed in t-shirt and shorts, bragging about playing

Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castl ...

during depositions, and drawing then showing off "pictures of male genitalia" during depositions. On December 5, 2016, Altonaga rejected the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s $450,000 penalty against the City of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

’s budget director for deceiving municipal bond investors, instead fining Michael Boudreaux $15,000. In 2021, Altonaga was assigned to preside over the multidistrict litigation against stock trading company Robinhood, sued by its clients for suspending trading of

GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates ...

stock during a national spike in the value of that stock.

Supreme Court speculation

In July 2005, following the retirement of Justice

Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and th ...

, Altonaga's name was raised as a potential George W. Bush Supreme Court candidate, a position for which she was promoted by Florida's Hispanic community.McNelly Torres and Madeline Baro Diaz, "Case made for Hispanic justice from Florida", ''

South Florida Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...

'' (July 9, 2005), p. 5B. However, it constitutes an extremely rare occurrence for a sitting District Court judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court, with the most recent occurrence being

Edward Terry Sanford Edward Terry Sanford (July 23, 1865 – March 8, 1930) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1923 until his death in 1930. Prior to his nomination to the high court, Sanford served as a ...

in 1923. At 43, Altonaga was younger than most other Hispanics or women who were being mentioned as possible nominees, which might have made her a more attractive choice to the President. President Bush went through several other nominees, and ultimatrely succeeded in nominating Judge

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has serve ...

for the position.

Personal life

Altonaga married attorney George Mencio in 1986, with whom she had three daughters.

References

External links

Florida International University Magazine article on Judge Cecilia M. AltonagaSouth Florida group makes case for Hispanic Supreme Court justiceJudge rules pumping polluted water into lake Okeechobee illegal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altonaga, Cecilia Maria 1962 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges American judges of Cuban descent American people of Cuban descent American women lawyers Florida International University people Florida state court judges Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Lawyers from Baltimore United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush Yale Law School alumni