Alejandro Enrique Ferrer (born October 18, 1960), known professionally as Judge Alex, is an American television personality, lawyer, and retired judge who presided as the arbitrator on the eponymous '' Judge Alex''.
Early life and education
Ferrer was born in
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.immigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with his family when he was one year old. He attended Rockway Junior High School.
While working as a police officer, Ferrer received a Bachelor of Professional Studies degree from Barry University. Ferrer earned a J.D. from the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
, where he became a published member of its law review. Ferrer also served as judicial director of the university's alumni association.
Career
At 19, Ferrer served as a young police officer in
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.
Ferrer practiced law in Miami, focusing on civil litigation, including suits involving medical malpractice, wrongful deaths, personal injuries and commercial business litigation.
Judicial
In 1995, he became an associate administrative judge in the criminal division of the 11th judicial circuit, which covers
Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...
, where he spent ten years presiding over criminal cases. He also served as an appellate judge over appeals from the Miami-Dade County Court, county commission and other agencies.
In 1999, he was elected to serve as district representative to the executive committee of the
Conference of Circuit Court Judges
A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
, a position he held until 2001. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the District of Columbia Bar Association. He has been an adjunct professor at
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...
Judge Alex presided over the trials of Sun Gym gang members Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal.
On July 17, 1998, Ferrer sentenced both to death for each of the murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton, as well as two prison terms for other crimes.
Marc Schiller's Medicare fraud trial
The judge provided favorable testimony in February 1999 to Marc Schiller, the Sun Gym gang's first victim. Before Schiller's abduction and attempted murder, he had led a Medicare fraud scheme and was facing 25 years in jail. Ferrer stepped in to provide testimony as a sitting judge, which is extremely rare and set precedent in its own right. He credited Schiller's courage and the conditions he faced in helping prosecute Lugo and Doorbal. Schiller's sentence was reduced to the federal minimum of 46 months in prison.
''Preston v. Ferrer''
In 2005, Ferrer was presented with a demand for arbitration by attorney Arnold Preston, who worked for Ferrer under a "personal management" contract. Preston claimed Ferrer owed him fees under the contract. Ferrer countered, claiming Preston had acted as a
talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...
without a license and therefore under
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
law the contract was void and unenforceable. The question of whether a judge or an arbitrator should decide the "talent agent" question went all the way to the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
in the case '' Preston v. Ferrer''. The Court ruled in Preston's favor in 2008, holding that an arbitrator, rather than a state judge, should decide whether Preston violated California's talent agency act.
court show
A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming genre comprising legal dramas and reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of legal ...
, presided over by Judge Alex Ferrer. The syndicated series debuted on September 12, 2005, and ran for nine seasons.
Judge Alex appeared on the January 27, 2007 episode of '' 1 vs. 100''. On July 6, 2007, he appeared on
Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
's ''
Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
''Red Eye'' (also known as ''Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld'' from 2007 to 2015 and ''Red Eye w/ Tom Shillue'' from 2015 to 2017) is an American late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on Fox News, which aired at 3:00 a.m. ET Tuesday throug ...
''. He was a guest on ''Verdict with Dan Abrams'' on July 15, 2008. On November 17, 2008, he appeared on '' Trivial Pursuit: America Plays'' as the captain of America's team. On November 21, 2008, as a contestant playing for a charity during a special "Judges Week" program. Judge Alex appeared on an episode of '' America's Most Wanted'' (episode date March 22, 2010).
He appeared on
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
as a legal expert during coverage of the Casey Anthony murder trial in 2011 and George Zimmerman murder trial in 2013.
In 2018, Ferrer began hosting an American true-crime television series called ''
Whistleblower
Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
area with his wife, Jane, their two children and their dog, Eevee.