Melissa Damian

Southern District of Florida
	Eleventh Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 18
	Judges: 17
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: Cecilia Altonaga
	Active judges: ; Roy Altman, Cecilia Altonaga, Jacqueline Becerra, Beth Bloom, Aileen Cannon, Melissa Damian, William Dimitrouleas, Darrin P. Gayles, David Leibowitz, Jose E. Martinez, Donald Middlebrooks, Kevin M. Moore, Robin L. Rosenberg, Rodolfo Ruiz, Anuraag Singhal, Rodney Smith, Kathleen M. Williams; Senior judges:; James Cohn, Jose Gonzalez, Donald Graham, Paul Huck, Daniel Hurley, James King, Joan Lenard, Kenneth Marra, Federico Moreno, Robert N. Scola Jr., Patricia Seitz, William Zloch

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Melissa Damian
	Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Progress
	Confirmed 114 days after nomination.
	Nominated: November 6, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: November 29, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: January 18, 2023
	Confirmed: February 28, 2024
	Vote: 77-20

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Melissa Damian is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on November 6, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on February 28, 2024, by a vote of 77-20.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States 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.

Prior to joining the court, Damian was a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.^[5]^[6]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On November 6, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Damian to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.^[6] Damian received commission on March 4, 2024.^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Damian by a vote of 77-20 on February 28, 2024.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Damian confirmation vote (February 28, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	2
Republican	29	20	0
Independent	2	0	1
Total	77^[7]	20	3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Damian's nomination on November 29, 2023.^[8] She was reported to the full Senate on January 18, 2023, after a 19-2 committee vote.^[9] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On November 6, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Melissa Damian to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Damian's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2024.^[10] The president renominated Damian on January 8, 2024.^[2]

Damian was nominated to replace Judge Ursula Ungaro, who retired on May 31, 2021.^[11]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Damian well qualified.^[12] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Damian earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1990 and a law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1995.^[4]

Professional career

2024-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
2022-2024: Magistrate judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
1997-1999, 2010-2021: Private practice
1999-2010: Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Florida
- 2001-2010: Criminal Division
- 2000: Civil Division
- 1999: Appellate Division^[4]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Fort Pierce. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit based in downtown Atlanta at the Elbert P. Tuttle Federal Courthouse. 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 following counties are located 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.