Jonathan Goodman

Jonathan Goodman is a magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He assumed office on July 23, 2010.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Biography

Goodman has worked as a partner with the Akerman law firm in Miami. He was also a newspaper reporter. Goodman was appointed to the magistrate court in 2010.^[1]^[2]

About the court

The Southern District of Florida has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The district includes the South Florida metropolitan area of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Miami and West Palm Beach. It comprises 15,197 square miles and approximately 6.3 million people. Court offices are in Miami, Florida.^[3]

The following counties are in the Southern District of Florida:

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

Noteworthy events

Presiding judge during arraignment in federal prosecution of Donald Trump

See also: Federal prosecution of Donald Trump, 2023-2024 (classified documents case)

On June 13, 2023, Goodman was selected to preside over the arraignment and bond hearing in the federal criminal trial of former President Donald Trump (R) in the Southern District of Florida.^[4] Goodman handled that duty instead of Aileen Cannon, who was assigned as the lead judge on the case.^[5] To read more about the case, click here.

External links

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida 2010	Succeeded by -

Ballotpedia updates federal judicial profiles at least once a year. However, if you find something's just not right, we want to know! Please email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of any incomplete, incorrect, or missing information related to this judge's profile.