Federico A. Moreno (born 1952) is an American lawyer and judge. He is the current chief judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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Moreno was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with an Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 and from the University of Miami School of Law with a J.D. in 1978. At the University of Miami Law School he met his wife of thirty-five years, Maria Cristina Morales. Morales is a prominent attorney in Miami. They have three children: Cristina (29), a prosecutor for the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.; Rick(26), an MBA student at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia; and Vicky-Lou(20), a college junior and starting quarterback of Welsh Family interhall football team at the University of Notre Dame.
Moreno was in private practice in Miami from 1978 to 1979. He served as assistant federal public defender in the Office of the U.S. Public Defender from 1979 to 1981 before returning to private practice in Miami from 1982 to 1986. Moreno served as a judge on the Dade County Court from 1986 to 1987. He served as a judge on the 11th Judicial Circuit Court from 1987 to 1990.
Moreno was nominated by George H.W. Bush on June 5, 1990 to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida to the seat vacated by Alcee Hastings, who was impeached. Confirmed by the Senate on July 13, 1990, he received commission on July 16, 1990.
On the court Moreno has presided over several notable cases:
Moreno has served as Chief Judge on the court since 2007.
On March 9, 1992, President George H.W. Bush nominated Moreno to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, to replace Paul Roney, who had taken senior status.[7] Bush's previous nominee for the seat, Kenneth Ryskamp, had been defeated by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. However, the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee did not take up Moreno's nomination before Bush's presidency ended, and President Bill Clinton chose not to renominate Moreno to the seat after he took office. Ultimately, Clinton ended up appointing Rosemary Barkett to the seat to which Moreno had been nominated.