Cecilia Altonaga

Cecilia Maria Altonaga (born December 26 1962, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.) is the first Cuban-American woman to be appointed as a federal judge in the United States. She was nominated for the position in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by George W. Bush on January 15 2003.

Altonaga is an alumna of Florida International University, where she received her B.A. in 1983. She graduated from the Yale Law School in 1986. She was appointed a County Court Judge in Florida by Governor Lawton Chiles, and then promoted to Circuit Court Judge by Governor Jeb Bush, before ascending to the Federal bench. She has been a strong supporter of the recently created FIU College of Law, having served as the keynote speaker in the 2004 Convocation, judged several moot court competitions, and employed FIU law students as summer interns.

In July 2005, following the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Judge Altonaga's name was raised as a potential Bush Supreme Court candidate, a position for which she was promoted by Florida's hispanic community. However, it would be a very rare occurrence for a sitting District Court judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court. 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. However, President Bush went through several other nominees, and nominated Judge Samuel Alito for the position.

Notable Rulings

On the June 14 2007, Altonaga ruled that US Sugar Corp's practice of pumping untreated wastewater into lake Okeechobee was in violation of the Clean Water Act. Largely as a result of this decision, on June 25 2008 the state of Florida announced plans to purchase 300 square miles of land controlled by US Sugar Corps, which will be used to restore vital water flow between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades National Park, helping to ensure its survival in the face of competition for water from surrounding development.

ee also

*George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates

External links

* [http://news.fiu.edu/fiumag/spring2002/15.htm Florida International University Magazine article on Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga]
* [http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=101229 South Florida group makes case for Hispanic Supreme Court justice]
* [http://www.earthjustice.org/library/legal_docs/judge-rules-pumping-polluted-water-into-lake-okeechobee-illegal.pdf Judge rules pumping polluted water into lake Okeechobee illegal]