News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Weds. Aug. 3, 2011: A Cuban national has been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals.
President Obama nominated Judge Adalberto José Jordán to the Eleventh Circuit court Tuesday.
“Judge Adalberto José Jordánwill bring an unwavering commitment to fairness and judicial integrity to the federal bench,” Obama said. “His impressive legal career is a testament to the kind of thoughtful and diligent judge he will be on the Eleventh Circuit. I am honored to nominate him today.”
Judge Jordán was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of six.
He has served as a District Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami since 1999.
He also teaches as an adjunct professor of law at University of Miami School of Law, where he has taught since 1990, and Florida International University College of Law, where he has taught since 2007.
Judge Jordán received his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Miami in 1984, and his J.D. summa cum laude from University of Miami School of Law in 1987.
After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas A. Clark of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 1987 to 1988, and the following year he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor of the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1989, Judge Jordán joined the Miami law firm of Steel Hector & Davis LLP (now Squire Sanders & Dempsey) as a litigation associate, eventually specializing in appellate practice and becoming a partner in 1994. Later that year, he joined the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in the appellate division and handling criminal and civil appeals on behalf of the government.
Judge Jordán became appellate division chief in the office in 1998, and also served as special counsel to the United States Attorney for legal policy. Since being appointed to the District Court bench in 1999, Judge Jordán has presided over nearly 200 trials on a wide range of civil and criminal matters. In addition, he has frequently sat by designation on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
