Judge Federico A. Moreno

By Jordi C. Martínez-Cid

There are judges who preside over cases, and then there are judges who become institutions. Judge Federico Antonio Moreno is the latter. He is not simply one of the longest-serving and most recognizable judges in South Florida. He is, in many ways, part of and emblematic of the district’s idealized identity. He is practical, direct, warm, funny, demanding, humane, and guided by the charge to follow the law, do what is right, and—very importantly to him—move cases along. He is a foreign-born citizen that has put his love of country and community at the forefront of his life, working hard to make this district a better, more united place.

Judge Moreno has spoken movingly about being naturalized by Judge Robert Grant in the Northern District of Indiana, and often tells new citizens at naturalization ceremonies that a naturalized citizen is “super-wanted”—the person must want to embed themselves in their new country and the new country must want to welcome that person. That “wanting” is a thread that runs through Judge Moreno’s entire life. He wants to be a great Catholic, (grand)father, husband, judge, citizen, and person. But to paraphrase the Bible, want without works is dead. Judge Moreno’s “want” is alive and well. He is still alive, too, which I am sure he will remind me of after he reads this post. Judge Moreno has demonstrated throughout his entire life how much he deeply cares about this country by working ceaselessly to improve it.

His docket has reflected the extraordinary range of the Southern District itself. Judge Moreno has presided over hundreds of jury trials (I believe he stopped counting after 800), has sat by designation many times on the Eleventh Circuit, has handled multidistrict litigation involving managed care and the Takata airbag recall, oversaw litigation relating to Everglades restoration, and has presided over cases involving civil rights, public corruption, environmental law, international disputes, and lots and lots of fraud and drugs. He took and still has handwritten notes from every jury trial over which he presided. That detail speaks to a larger point. Judge Moreno is as interested in getting things right as he is in getting things resolved. And on the rare occasion he might be wrong, as he often says, “there are three wiser judges in Atlanta who can correct him.”

As Chief Judge, Judge Moreno worked to unite our community. He initiated the Southern District of Florida Bench and Bar Conference. He recognized our diversity by initiating Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage celebrations. He began the tradition of honoring attorneys who had served the district as “Unsung Heroes” and was a driving force in having the federal courthouses named after local legends. And in a very practical move that every lawyer can appreciate, he became the first to set parameters allowing jurors, witnesses, and attorneys to bring cell phones into the courthouse.

His service also extends beyond the courtroom and our district. A scholarship at the University of Miami School of Law was endowed in his honor. He has served on the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Board of Directors, the Notre Dame Law School Advisory Council, and the University of Miami School of Law Visiting Committee. He has taught trial advocacy and regularly invited students to observe court proceedings—carefully selecting cases to make the experience meaningful. He also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 2014 until 2019, working to improve efficiency and the administration of justice across a nation that would be better served if more judges were like him.

No portrait of Judge Moreno would be complete without talking about his clerks, and not solely because we are spectacular. The “FAM Family” is not a throwaway phrase. He keeps pictures of every law clerk in chronological order in chambers and, over the years, adds photographs of their children. He visits clerks when he travels, plans gatherings so clerks can meet one another, and tells new clerks enough stories about former clerks that they know their predecessors before meeting them. Even if our omertá would preclude me from saying otherwise, I can honestly say that he has done an exceptional job of bringing together a great group of people and fostering a sense of family. All of this has created a true feeling of kinship, and it is almost entirely because of him.

And anyone who has spent time around Judge Moreno knows that that mentorship and warmth is not limited to clerks. He has taught generations of lawyers how to behave in federal court: be prepared, be direct, be courteous to the courtroom staff—especially his longtime Courtroom Deputy, Shirley Christie—and let the judge handle most of the theatrics. In his Federal Bar Association interview, when asked whether young lawyers appreciate the importance of being courteous to the courtroom deputy, his answer was simple: be nice to the staff because “they’ll tell the judge.” It is funny because it is true. It is useful because it is wise. It is quintessential Moreno because it is all of those things, plus efficient.

Judge Moreno’s legacy is therefore not confined to the Federal Reporter, the courthouse, or even the Southern District of Florida. It lives in the lawyers he has trained, the clerks he has adopted into the Moreno family (some of whom have taken the bench themselves), the judges he has advised, the staff he has respected, the litigants he has heard, and the countless citizens who have watched him model what public service should look like. He has made this district feel more like itself: serious but not (too) self-important, diverse but connected, demanding but humane, practical but principled, and deeply committed to the rule of law.

Thank you, Judge Moreno. FBA write-up below:

Judge Federico Moreno was nominated to the district court by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and continues to serve as a senior judge. As evidenced by the proudly displayed wristband in his portrait, Judge Moreno is a distinguished alum of the University of Notre Dame, where he befriended and tutored Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger and served as the inspiration for the character D-Bob in the film Rudy. Judge Moreno attended the University of Miami School of Law. After a brief tenure at the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Judge Moreno worked in private practice before serving as a state judge in the county and circuit courts. He has presided over numerous notable cases in our district, including the infamous 1996 drug trafficking trial of Miami “Cocaine Cowboys” Sal Magluta and Willy Falcón, United States v. Falcón, et al., Case No. 91-CR-6060.