After being considered by both the Obama and Trump Administrations for a judicial vacancy, Judge Melissa Damian has been tapped by President Biden for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Background
Melissa Damian received a B.A. from Princeton University in 1990 and a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1995. After graduation, Damian clerked for Judge Ursula Ungaro on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and then joined Kenny Nachwalter P.A. as an associate. In 1999, Damian became a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
In 2010, Damian joined The Ferraro Law Firm as appellate counsel and then moved to Damian & Valori as Of Counsel in 2013. In 2021, Damian was selected to be a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where she currently serves.
Damian has applied and been interviewed for a seat on the Southern District of Florida both in 2014, under the Obama Administration and in 2017 under the Trump Administration, but was not selected in either case.
History of the Seat
Damian has been nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to replace Damian’s old boss, Judge Ursula Ungaro, who took senior status on May 2, 2021.
Legal Career
While Damian started her career as a clerk for Judge Ungaro and then at Kenny Nachwalter P.A., her first extended job was at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, where she spent eleven years. Notably, during this tenure, Damian prosecuted George Freeman, a Washington D.C. high school teacher convicted of importing cocaine from Barbados. See United States v. Freeman, 139 F. Supp. 2d 1364 (S.D. Fla. 2001). After a guilty verdict in Freeman’s second trial, Judge Adalberto Jordan nonetheless found that Freeman’s continuous denial of any knowledge of the contents of the suitcase was truthful, notwithstanding the jury verdict, and that he should be entitled to avoid a mandatory minimum sentence. See id. at 1374.
Between 2010 and 2021, Damian worked in private practice in South Florida. During this time, Damian handled a variety of civil actions, including a personal injury lawsuit brought against Disneyworld by a plaintiff allegedly injured on a roller-coaster. See Randall v. Walt Disney World Co., 140 So. 3d 1118 (Fla. App. 5th 2014). Damian also sued attorneys representing a company founded by “financier-turned-fraudster” Aubrey Lee Price in seeking to recoup losses suffered by investors from the fraud. See Damian v. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, 317 F. Supp. 3d 1228 (N.D. Ga. 2017). Damian has also represented plaintiffs in products liability actions. See, e.g., Rouviere v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., 560 F. Supp. 3d 774 (S.D.N.Y. 2021).
Notably, Damian represented Ariel Quiros, who was sued for securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). See S.E.C. v. Quiros, 966 F.3d 1195 (11th Cir. 2020).
Jurisprudence
Damian has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida since 2022. In this role, Damian presides over matters where parties consent to her jurisdiction, writes reports and recommendations for district judges to review, and handles discovery disputes, release matters, and pretrial motions. For example, Damian denied a motion by Royal Caribbean to disqualify a plaintiff’s expert witness in a maritime negligence case in which a passenger was injured by slipping on a gangway. See Jay v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., 608 F. Supp. 3d 1249 (S.D. Fla. 2022).
Among the notable cases where the parties consented to her jurisdiction, Damian partially granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings from the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, which filed suit seeking to enforce an arbitration award against the Italba Corporation. See Oriental Republic of Uruguay v. Italba Corp., 606 F. Supp. 3d 1250 (S.D. Fla. 2022). Specifically, Damian denied the portion of Uruguay’s request for prejudgment interest on the award, finding that the arbitration panel already denied Uruguay’s request for prejudgment interest. See id. at 1261.
Political Activity
Damian has a history of donating to candidates from both political parties, having given to Democratic Gubernatorial candidates Bill McBride and Charlie Crist, as well as Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott and Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Overall Assessment
Having extensive legal experience with both civil and criminal law, as well as close connections in the South Florida legal community, Damian should be a relatively uncontroversial nominee. Given the Southern District’s need for additional judge, Damian’s confirmation will likely be a welcome relief for the judges on the bench.
The Vetting Room 
If you want a return to the fortas era court which method do you guys think is better –
basically go full on stealth and try to put in nominees that don’t scare people. Like an example of that would have been for Biden to put someone like Dana Remus for the NH seat on the 1st, Adam Feldman (clerked for Souter in the 90s) on the MA seat on the 1st and Katyal either for the Wood seat on the 7th or on the DC Circuit.
Basically these guys would probably have been feeder judges. Also, someone like that on the supreme court could act as the inmate trying to get favors of the prison guards (i.e. Roberts/Barrett/Kavanaugh).
The second strategy is to get into a game of sabotage. In a moderate to conservative court, try to get in a liberal equivalent of Van Dyke who will try to throw as many sand into the gears of the judicial process. In a more liberal court, get someone who will intentionally try to provoke the supreme court by writing decisions that they might strike down but write so many that “they can’t catch them all.”
On the supreme court, someone like that would act as a spy by always carrying recording devices when meeting with other justices – and by giving the media information about the goings on.
This situation would also probably involve infiltrating fedsoc chapters and trying to get “spy clerks” into conservative chambers. That way, you increase the odds of Blackmun/Souter type “fumbled seats” in 20 years. If you can get a few spy-clerks in a conservative judge’s chambers – you could also “Kozinski” them off the court (but only do that with a dem president)
LikeLike
It should be noted that Julie Carnes was a George Sr district judge that Obama had to nominate as part of a package deal for Jill Pryor since the blue slip rule was still in place.
Wasn’t a shocker at all that she took senior status under Trump.
As for Irma Ramirez, she would have to serve at least ten years I believe before she could take senior status.
Finally as for the 9th Circuit, by the time George W got through with it, it was nowhere near the liberal court it once was.
What hurt us under Trump was the fact two liberal Carter judges (both of whom should have taken senior status much earlier) and one moderate Clinton judge (Silverman) saw their seats flip.
That is where the damage was done.
The other seven hacks replaced conservative judges who would never have taken senior status under Hilary or if a Democratic senate was in control.
Still sucks though.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for that helpful breakdown. Apart from reading that amazing article for I think the LA Times many months ago tracking the data from the types of decisions from the 9th circuit, it really helped to put things in perspective.
I guess my only question is this. Given that the states Trump appointed the 9th circuit hacks were predominantly blue states with 2 Dem senators, if McConnell and Trump didn’t scrap blue slips to confirm them under a GOP president, would Biden have gotten the chance to fill those seats after the Dem senators blocked any right-of-center nominee? I’m not sure if I phrased it that well, but I hope you can see where I’m trying to go.
Would Biden have gotten the chance to damn near make it the Biden circuit out west with 15+ appointees if McConnell respected the blue slip tradition and the GOP appointees took senior status under a GOP administration thinking they’d pass their seats to similar ideological individuals?
LikeLike
The answer to your hypothetical question is yes, Biden would have been able to fill all those blue state circuit court seats had Republicans not scrapped blue slips. But that’s the thing. It’s totally hypothetical because Republicans never hesitate to use power when they have it. Only Democrats do. I had little doubt they were going to scrap blue slips for circuit court seats just like I had little doubt they would confirm a SCOTUS nominee in an election year. I have even less doubt that they will scrap blue slips for district court seats once in full power again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If McConnell had honored the blue slip, what likely would have happened is package deals where a liberal jurist was allowed through in exchange for a couple of conservative jurists.
So the 9th still would have had right wing hacks on it, just not as many.
Alas…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think the California senators would be able to stop the worst of the worst from getting on the 9th circuit, and the conservative jurists would be more like Mark J. Bennett. Given that a lot of California district court seats went unfilled, it’s possible that Feinstein & Harris would have held 2 of the seats open and let Trump fill the other 2 with center-right jurists.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Considering then-Sen. Harris was a prominent Democrat seeking to raise her public profile, I doubt she would’ve allowed even the most moderate judicial nominee. I’m unsure if she would’ve acquiesced to any nominee that Feinstein agreed to. I don’t know if she voted to confirm Mark Bennett to the 9th circuit, but that would be the kind of circuit judge she wanted for California.
Out of the outright 7 conservative judges that Trump appointed who replaced conservative judges, I think he couldn’t have gotten more than 3-4 appointees to the 9th circuit with blue slips still in place. Dem senators all across the country would have refused to turn in blue slips for anyone that wasn’t a respected semi right-leaning AUSA or U.S. Attorney/Magistrate judge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The right wing hacks would be from red states or swing states like Arizona (where Sinema let Trump put several right wing judges on the district court)
LikeLike
As much as I often disagree with senator Kennedy on a number of issues, I have to admit he has been particularly fair to Black male judicial nominees. He saved Andre Mathis & this week he voted for both Micah W. J. Smith & Jamel K. Semper.
LikeLiked by 2 people
There’s that bi-partisan support that I do believe still exists for nominees with impeccable qualifications, experience, & pedigree, such as Micah Smith, Irma Ramirez, etc! It doesn’t happen often anymore, but it still exists and that gives me hope!
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Jill, as someone who is interested in judge ideologies and other people’s views on bipartisanship, what are your thoughts on these other judges/nominees: Gustavo Gelpi (1st CCA), Lucy Koh (9th CCA), Roopali Desai (9th CCA), Joshua Kolar (7th CCA), Richard Federico (10th CCA), Jerry Edwards & Brandon Scott Long (ED LA), and maybe any of the Florida nominees?
LikeLike
The senate has two weeks left and two major pieces of legislation to complete the Security package to Ukraine/Israel and the NDAA bill. They both would prob take 8 legislative days (my maths may be wrong) to pass (if the NDAA is passed on a fast path) just depends on amendments and how the Republicans play especially the usual suspects e.g Paul,Hawley
This could leave very few days on the last two weeks for other stuff to be completed like judges.
I think they will have to have longer days and dare I say it work next weekend.
VP Harris should be back mid week to help out with the party line (bar Manchin) judicial votes and I hope that includes Jennings Noti for the Superior DC Court who has been waiting two years. Also this would mean VP Harris finally would have cast the most tie breaking VP Votes which is a nice achievement to have especially when you see who she is currently tieing with.
They also will be dealing with the Tubberville issue. I just hope Schumer has some game plan in place he has a lot of nominations on the executive calendar so I’m hoping he threatens the GOP with a shorter Christmas holiday to get more voice voted.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In reviewing your list, I’m only somewhat familiar with Jerry Edwards from Louisiana because of the controversy I’ve read about surrounding his nomination. He seems well-qualified & should get confirmed with some bipartisan support, as did Papillon.
LikeLike
While Sandra Day O’Connor was a good justice, I think she can absolutely be blamed for retiring under GW Bush. Ruth Bader Ginsburg didn’t plan to die during Trump’s presidency. Sure, O’Connor needed to care for her husband, but if Gavi is right about her being unwilling to retire to retire under President John Kerry, she clearly didn’t HAVE to retire (I think that had Bush appointed Alito to replace someone else, O’Connor may have been willing to retire under Obama — if not Bush or Obama she would be forced to retire under Trump because of her dementia)
LikeLike
Pingback: Detra Shaw-Wilder – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida | The Vetting Room