United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with territorial 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.
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: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-third of all federal district judges so removed.
Famous cases that have been heard in the district include Bush v. Gore, United States v. Noriega, González v. Reno, notorious Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, and United States v. José Padilla.
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 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 United States Marshal
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 Ariana Fajardo Orshan.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 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.
Current judges
Vacancies and pending nominations
| Seat | Prior Judge's Duty Station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
| 23 | West Palm Beach | Kenneth Marra | Senior status | August 1, 2017 | Aileen Cannon | May 21, 2020 |
| 18 | Miami | Federico A. Moreno | Senior status | July 17, 2020 |