Roy Altman
Roy Altman | |
|---|---|
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida | |
| Assumed office April 9, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Joan A. Lenard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Roy Kalman Altman 1982 (age 43–44) |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) Yale Law School (JD) |
Roy Kalman Altman (born 1982) is a Venezuelan-American lawyer and jurist who serves as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Early life and education
[edit]Altman was born in Caracas, Venezuela, moving to the United States shortly afterwards. He graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in 2004,[1][2] also playing as a quarterback on the football team and as a pitcher on the baseball team. Altman earned his Juris Doctor in 2007 from Yale Law School, where he was Projects Editor for the Yale Law Journal. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Stanley Marcus of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[3][4]
Altman served for six years as an assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida, where he prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases and tried more than 20 cases to jury verdict, arguing several of them before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He won the Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys Award for Superior Litigation Team in United States v. Mentor, the Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys Award for Superior Litigation Performance in United States v. Flanders, the Federal Bar Association Young Federal Lawyer Award, and the Federal Prosecutor of the Year award from the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police and the Law Enforcement Officers Charitable Foundation.[5]
Before becoming a judge, Altman was a partner at the law firm of Podhurst Orseck in Miami, Florida, where he specialized in aviation law and commercial litigation.[5]
Federal judicial service
[edit]Altman was mentioned as a potential judicial nominee in February 2018.[6] On April 26, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Altman to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.[5] On May 7, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Joan A. Lenard, who assumed senior status on July 1, 2017.[7] On June 20, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[8] On July 19, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 17–4 vote.[9]
On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Altman for a federal judgeship.[10] His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day.[11] On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–6 vote.[12] On April 3, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 66–33 vote.[13] On April 4, 2019, Altman was confirmed by a 66–33 vote.[14] He received his judicial commission on April 9, 2019.[15] He was the youngest federal district court judge in the United States and the youngest-ever appointed judge in the Southern District of Florida.[16]
Altman, Lee Rudofsky, and Matthew Solomon organized a week-long delegation of 14 U.S. federal judges to Israel in March 2024. The tour examined the impact of the October 7 attacks and the challenges they posed to the Israeli legal system, specifically International Humanitarian Law and the law of armed conflict from the Israeli perspective. During the visit, the delegation met with Foreign Ministry legal advisor Tal Becker, representatives of the IDF, and Palestinian activists.[17] Since then, Altman has brought three different groups of U.S. federal judges to Israel, sponored by the World Jewish Congress.[16]
Altman delivered the commencement address at the 2026 University of Miami School of Law Spring 2026 Commencement ceremony.[18]
Works
[edit]In 2026, Altman published Israel on Trial, a book addressing legal and historical debates surrounding Israel, antisemitism, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict after the October 7 attacks.[19]
Memberships
[edit]Altman was a member of the Federalist Society from 2004 to 2007 and rejoined the organization in 2015.[20] Since rejoining, Altman frequently speaks at events hosted by the Federalist Society to various audiences including law school students. [21]
Personal life
[edit]Altman is Jewish. He is married to Dr. Rachel Silverstein, a marine biologist who leads Miami Waterkeeper, an environmental non-profit organization. They have two sons.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "AitN: April 8, 2019". Columbia College Today. 8 April 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ↑ "Newsmakers". Columbia College Today. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
- ↑ "Roy Kalman Altman bio". Podhurst Orseck. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- ↑ McMahon, Paula (February 13, 2018). "Trump names his top three picks for federal judge in South Florida". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- 1 2 3 "President Donald J. Trump Announces Thirteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees and Seventh Wave of United States Marshal Nominees". whitehouse.gov. April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018 – via National Archives.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ↑ Caputo, Marc (February 13, 2018). "Trump taps 3 new judges in federal district overseeing Mar-a-Lago". Politico. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ↑ "Fifteen Nominations Sent to the Senate Today" White House, May 7, 2018
- ↑ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for June 20, 2018
- ↑ Results of Executive Business Meeting – July 19, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee
- ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees", White House, January 23, 2019
- ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, January 23, 2019
- ↑ Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 7, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
- ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Roy Kalman Altman, of Florida, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida)". United States Senate. April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Roy Kalman Altman, of Florida, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida)". United States Senate. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ↑ Roy Altman at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1 2 Wagenheim, Mike (2025-07-09). "Federal judge says many lessons can be learned from Jerusalem's judiciary". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Starr, Michael (2024-03-13). "US federal judge delegation explores Oct 7 challenge to Israeli legal system". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Valencia, Michelle (2026-05-09). "A century of excellence: School of Law commencement celebrates graduates and 100-year anniversary". Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Roy K. Altman. "Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
- ↑ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Roy Kalman Altman
- ↑ "Hon. Roy Kalman Altman". The Federalist Society. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2025-10-04.
External links
[edit]- Roy Altman at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1982 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American lawyers
- Assistant United States attorneys
- Columbia Lions baseball players
- Columbia Lions football players
- Florida lawyers
- Hispanic and Latino American judges
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Lawyers from Caracas
- United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump
- Yale Law School alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American lawyers