--- title: "Cecilia M. Altonaga | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cecilia-m-altonaga" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Cecilia M. Altonaga U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida - State: Florida - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, S.D. Florida, 2003-present - Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a position she assumed on July 1, 2021 - The Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, appointed in 2003 by President George W. Bush and became chief judge in 2021 - Judge, Circuit Court of Florida, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, 1999-2003 - State & Local Service: Judge, Miami-Dade County Court (1996–1999) Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (1999–2003) - Judge, Miami-Dade County Florida Court, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, 1996-1999 - Assistant county attorney, Dade County, FL, 1988-1996 - Law clerk, Hon. Edward B. Davis, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1987-1988 - Attorney, Dade County Florida Attorney's Office, 1986-1987 - Altonaga has been recognized for her support of Florida International University College of Law, serving as keynote speaker, moot court judge, and intern supervisor ### Education - Yale University — J.D. (1986) - Florida International University — B.A. (1983) ### Additional information - Date of birth: 1962-01-01 - Heritage: Daughter of Cuban refugees; first Cuban-American woman appointed as a federal judge and chief judge in the U.S - Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School - Birth place: Baltimore, MD ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### electronic trial exhibits Scope: courtwide Unless otherwise ordered, Southern District of Florida parties must file electronic versions of documentary exhibits and digital photographs of non-documentary physical exhibits within ten days after a hearing or trial ends. Evidence excerpt: Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, within ten (10) days of the conclusion of a hearing or trial, a party must file and serve in the CM/ECF system (a) an electronic version of each documentary exhibit ... and (b) a digital photograph of each non-documentary physical exhibit... [Local Rules of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida](https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/sites/flsd/files/25-09-22%202025%20Local%20Rules%20effective%20120125%20-%20FINAL.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### audiovisual exhibit filing Scope: courtwide The Southern District of Florida's local rules require contraband images, audio, and video recordings that are exempt from CM/ECF filing to be physically filed with the Clerk within ten days after the hearing or trial, unless otherwise ordered. Evidence excerpt: Contraband images, audio recordings, and video recordings, which must be physically filed with the Clerk of the Court within ten (10) days of the conclusion of the hearing or trial, unless otherwise ordered... [Local Rules of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida](https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/sites/flsd/files/25-09-22%202025%20Local%20Rules%20effective%20120125%20-%20FINAL.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391821) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391821) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391821) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/91/cecilia-m-altonaga/) - [Local Rules of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida](https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/sites/flsd/files/25-09-22%202025%20Local%20Rules%20effective%20120125%20-%20FINAL.pdf) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/91/cecilia-m-altonaga/) - [Wikidata: Cecilia Altonaga](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5056406) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cecilia-m-altonaga", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cecilia-m-altonaga", "name": "Cecilia M. Altonaga | KnowJudges", "description": "Cecilia M. Altonaga, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cecilia-m-altonaga#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cecilia-m-altonaga#judge", "name": "Cecilia M. Altonaga", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cecilia-m-altonaga", "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391821", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/91/cecilia-m-altonaga/" ], "birthDate": "1962", "birthPlace": "Baltimore, MD", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Florida International University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Yale University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Florida", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/florida" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cecilia M. Altonaga", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cecilia-m-altonaga" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 356 | 53 | 0.1 | 53 | | 2y | 817 | 423 | 1.1 | 423 | | 5y | 2077 | 1683 | 2 | 1683 | | 10y | 4834 | 4439 | 2.5 | 4439 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.