United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

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, . On February 23, 1847, this District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts, by . 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 .

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 fourth of all federal judges so removed.

Famous cases heard in the district include the prosecution of former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega, the Elián González case, notorious Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein,{{cite court

Jurisdiction

The court's jurisdiction comprises the nine 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 15197 sqmi and approximately 6.3 million people. Courthouses, corresponding to the five divisions of the district, are located in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Key West, Miami, and West Palm Beach. The court's offices are located in Miami.

United States attorney and marshal

The United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. , the United States attorney is Jason Reding Quiñones.

The United States Attorney's office has a staff of approximately 233 assistant United States attorneys and 227 support personnel. The main office is located in Miami, Florida, with three staffed branch offices located in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce and one unstaffed branch office located in Key West. There is also a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) office in West Miami-Dade and a Health Care Fraud Facility in Miramar.

On August 28, 2018, Gadyaces S. Serralta was confirmed by the United States Senate to be the United States marshal.

Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is one of three federal judicial districts in Florida. The District has five divisions:

Fort Pierce Division comprises the following counties: Highlands, Okeechobee, Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin.

West Palm Beach Division comprises Palm Beach County.

Fort Lauderdale Division comprises Broward County.

Miami Division comprises Miami-Dade County.

Key West Division comprises Monroe County.

Current judges

:

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

United States attorneys

List of U.S. attorneys since 1828

• William Allison McRea (1828–1829)
• John G. Stower (1829–1830)
• John K. Campbell (1830–1831)
• Edward Chandler (1831–1834)
• Adam Gordon (1834)
• Wylie P. Clark (1834–1839)
• Charles Walker (1839–1840)
• L. Windsor Smith (1840–1842)
• George W. McRae (1842–1847)
• L. Windsor Smith (1847–1850)
• William R. Hackley (1850–1858)
• John L. Tatum (1858–1861)
• Thomas J. Boynton (1861–1863)
• Homer G. Plantz (1863–1869)
• Claiborn R. Mobley (1869–1876)
• John Tyler Jr. (1876–1877)
• George B. Patterson (1877–1886)
• Livingstone W. Bethel (1886–1890)
• George B. Patterson (1890–1894)
• Owen J. H. Summers (1894)
• Frank Clark (1894–1897)
• Joseph N. Stripling (1897–1902)
• John Moses Cheney (1902–1912)
• Richard P. Marks (1912–1913)
• Herbert S. Phillips (1913–1921)
• William M. Gober (1921–1929)
• Wilburn P. Hughes (1929–1933)
• John W. Holland (1933–1936)
• Herbert S. Phillips (1936–1953)
• James L. Guilmartin (1953–1959)
• E. Coleman Madsen (1959–1961)
• Edward G. Boardman (1961–1963)
• William A. Meadows Jr. (1963–1969)
• Robert W. Rust (1969–1977)
• Vincent K. Antle (1977)
• Jacob V. Eskenazi (1977–1980)
• Atlee W. Wampler III (1980–1982)
• Stanley Marcus (1982–1985)
• Leon B. Kellner (1985–1988)
• Dexter Lehtinen (1988–1992)
• James McAdams (1992)
• Roberto Martinez (1992–1993)
• Kendall B. Coffey (1993–1996)
• William Keefer (1996–1997)
• Thomas Scott (1997–2000)
• Guy A. Lewis (2000–2002)
• Marcos Jiménez (2002–2005)
• Alexander Acosta (2005–2009)
• Jeffrey H. Sloman (2009–2010)
• Wifredo A. Ferrer (2010–2017)
• Benjamin G. Greenberg (2017–2018)
• Ariana Fajardo Orshan (2018–2021)
• Juan Antonio Gonzalez (acting) (2021–2023)
• Markenzy Lapointe (2023–2025)
• Jason Reding Quiñones (2025-)

References

References

1. {{USCode. 28. 89.
2. Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 393.
3. [https://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_district_fl.html U.S. District Courts of Florida, Legislative history], [[Federal Judicial Center]].
4. {{cite court. (1988)
5. {{cite court. (2000)
6. {{cite court. United States v. Trump]]. (2023)
7. {{USCode. 28. 89
8. "Southern District Map".
9. (2025-10-03). "Current Judicial Vacancies".
10. "Bicn Celebration".
11. "The Political Graveyard: U.S. District Attorneys in Florida".