Cecilia María Altonaga (born December 26, 1962) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She was appointed in 2003 by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and was the first

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

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

Biography

Altonaga was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, to parents who escaped from the communist regime in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

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

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' (August 29, 1999), Neighbors Sunday Profile, p. 4. She attended Notre Dame Academy in Miami, graduating in 1980, and then received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

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 ...

in 1983. Altonaga earned her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

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, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Edward B. Davis 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 ...

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 and military officer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator fr ...

appointed her as a County Court Judge on

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 ...

'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. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

Federal judicial service

On January 15, 2003, President

nominated Altonaga to be a

of the

. She was nominated to the seat vacated by Shelby Highsmith who assumed senior status on March 15, 2002. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

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 sc ...

, 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 many 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 to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

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 i ...

's practice of pumping untreated

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) 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 do ...

into

Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee ( ) is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the List of largest lakes of the United States by area, eighth-largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest ...

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 primary respo ...

. 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 a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the Un ...

, helping to ensure its survival in the face of competition for water from surrounding development. She also presided over the trial of

Charles McArther Emmanuel Charles McArther Emmanuel (born February 12, 1978), also known as Chuckie Taylor, is an American-Liberian former soldier and war criminal. He is the son of Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia.Charles Taylor, for torture. In September 2006, Dubai Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab ...

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

camel racing Camel racing is a racing sport in which jockeys riding on camels compete against each other to finish a set number of laps around a circular racetrack. It is most popular in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Mongolia ...

. A

class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

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" in connection with depositions for the case, including insisting on holding them in a

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

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

Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment, and owned by Sega. The game series focuses on the titular flock of colorful angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Cr ...

while they were ongoing, and drawing and then showing off "pictures of male genitalia". On December 5, 2016, Altonaga rejected the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

's $450,000 penalty against Michael Boudreaux, the City of

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 ...

's budget director, for deceiving municipal bond investors, instead fining him $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, headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operated 3,203 stor ...

stock during a national spike in the value of that stock. In March 2024,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

filed a defamation lawsuit against

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

and

George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos (born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a news presenter, coanchor with Robin Roberts (newscaster), Robin Roberts and M ...

for an airing of ''This Week'', arguing that Stephanopoulos harmed Trump's reputation by claiming that Trump was found liable for raping the writer E. Jean Carroll in a New York case. Altonaga, presiding over the suit brought by Trump, denied a motion to dismiss by Stephanopoulos, finding that the technical definition used by the judge in the New York case did not examine the findings made by the jury.

Supreme Court speculation

In July 2005, following the retirement of Justice

Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, O' ...

, 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, and Broward County, and ...

'' (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 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 ultimately succeeded in nominating Judge

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Samuel Alito Supreme Court ...

for the position.

Personal life

Altonaga married attorney George Mencio in 1986, with whom she has 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 women judges American judges of Cuban descent American women lawyers American 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 Hispanic and Latino American lawyers