Jacqueline Becerra

How Judge Becerra rules, drawn from 43 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Position
District judge
Appointed by
Joe Biden (Democratic)
Commissioned
February 29, 2024
Education
University of Miami (B.A., 1991); Yale Law School (J.D., 1994)
Signed orders read
43

About Judge Becerra

Jacqueline Becerra is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Becerra received a commission on February 29, 2024.

Judge Becerra's practices and standing orders

Rules for cases before Judge Becerra, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.

Key rules

Filing

Email proposed default orders and final judgments to chambers in Word format.

“the proposed order and proposed final judgment shall be submitted to the Court by e-mail in Word format at [email protected].”

Motions

File a motion for default final judgment within seven days of the clerk’s default.

“Within seven (7) days of the entry of a Clerk’s Default, Plaintiff(s) must file a Motion for Default Final Judgment.”

Standing orders for every case in this court

Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026).

Key rules from these orders · The court's local rules ↗

How Judge Becerra decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In Martinez Guadalupe's habeas case, Becerra held that the petitioner fell under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) after the Eleventh Circuit's Hernandez Alvarez decision. She ordered an individualized bond hearing within seven days or his release.

“Petitioner falls under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), and accordingly, Respondents shall promptly afford Petitioner an individualized bond hearing consistent with 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) within seven days of this Order or otherwise release Petitioner.”

Cautions

A post-removal detention challenge filed before six months have elapsed is premature under Zadvydas, and the petitioner must also show no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

“the first prong is not met given that Petitioner had been in custody for less than six months when he filed the Petition. ... Petitioner's claim still fails because the Petitioner has failed to show that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Montano v. Washington State Department of Health
1:23-cv-23903-JB · 2024-06-17
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendants' Motions to Dismiss, ECF Nos. [25], [34], [39], [55], [58], are GRANTED and the Complaint, ECF No. [1], is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. ... Plaintiff may file an amended complaint that complies with the requirements set forth in the Report by July 8, 2024.”

Smart City Capital, LLC v. Digital Infrastructure Group, Inc.
0:23-cv-61523-JB · 2024-06-26
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Denied

“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. [99], is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to permit limited jurisdictional discovery to proceed. ... Defendants may file a renewed motion to dismiss according to the established briefing schedule, if they so choose.”

Professional Kitchen Installer Group, Inc. v. Colon
0:23-cv-61617-JB · 2025-08-13
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied

“The Report, ECF No. [68], is AFFIRMED AND ADOPTED. ... Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. [56], is DENIED.”

Mid-Castle Development Limited v. Liqueous LP
1:24-cv-20511-JB · 2025-03-26
Motion to compel arbitration (defendant) Denied

“the Court lacks jurisdiction to enforce the Settlement Agreement and Defendant's Motion to Compel Arbitration is therefore DENIED. ... Defendants' Motion to Compel Arbitration, ECF No. [31], is DENIED.”

Preliminary injunction (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“Plaintiff's Motion for Contempt and Request for a Preliminary Injunction, ECF No. [34], is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE and Plaintiff may file a renewed motion if the parties have not already resolved their dispute, whether through arbitration or otherwise.”

Hoglan v. M/Y Bluefins (in rem)
1:24-cv-21628-JB · 2025-09-11
Motion for alternative service (plaintiff) Granted in part

“Plaintiffs' Expedited Motion to Authorize Alternative Service, ECF No. [24], is GRANTED IN PART AND DEFERRED IN PART as set forth herein.”

Andrade v. Warden, Federal Bureau of Prisons
1:26-cv-22421-JB · 2026-05-01
Habeas petition (petitioner) Granted in part

“Petitioner Angelo Gallardo Andrade's Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, ECF No. [1], is GRANTED IN PART. The Court has determined that Petitioner falls under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), and accordingly, Respondents shall promptly afford Petitioner an individualized bond hearing consistent with 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) or otherwise release Petitioner.”

Plain v. Saul (Commissioner of Social Security)
1:20-cv-20624-JLK · 2021-02-18
Social security appeal (claimant) Denied

“Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra's January 29, 2021 Report and Recommendation (DE 23) be, and the same is, hereby AFFIRMED and ADOPTED as an Order of this Court; ... Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 21) is hereby GRANTED; ... Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 19) is hereby DENIED”

Viotes v. Saul (Commissioner of Social Security)
1:19-cv-24223-JLK · 2021-02-18
Social security appeal (claimant) Granted in part

“Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 21) is hereby GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART; ... The above-styled action is hereby REMANDED to the Social Security Commissioner for further proceedings consistent with this opinion;”

Lifecell IP Holdings, LLC v. Cosmedique, LLC
0:19-cv-60978-RAR · 2021-07-19
Summary judgment (defendant) Denied

“Borodin's Motion [ECF No. 202] is DENIED.”

Summary judgment Granted in part

“SBSC's, Lifecell's, and Suarez's Joint Motion [ECF No. 204] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as follows: a. GRANTED as to Counts I, II, and III of Defendants'/Counter-Plaintiffs' Second Amended Counterclaim ... b. GRANTED as to Counts I and II of Defendants'/Counter-Plaintiffs' Third-Party Complaint Against Suarez ... and c. DENIED as to Count II of Lifecell and SBSC's Amended Complaint”

Rubis Caribbean Holdings, Inc. v. BE Tag Holdings Limited
1:15-cv-24369-JLK · 2023-02-28
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Moot / procedural

“Respondents' Motions to Dismiss, (DEs 87, 108), is hereby DENIED AS MOOT.”

Lanza (Estate of Sanchez) v. City of Miami
1:24-cv-22962-JB/Torres · 2025-02-26
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendant City of Miami's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. [9], is GRANTED and Plaintiff's Complaint, ECF No. [1], is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. If Plaintiff intends to file an amended complaint to cure the deficiencies identified in the Report, he must do so no later than March 12, 2025.”

Jenkins v. The GEO Group, Inc.
1:20-cv-24608-JEM · 2021-05-28

District Judge Jose E. Martinez's order overruling a pro se plaintiff's objections and adopting Magistrate Judge Becerra's Report and Recommendation that a Section 1915(e) in forma pauperis screening complaint be dismissed. An IFP screening dismissal, not an ordinary contested motion to dismiss, so it is excluded from the dispositive-motion count; included here only as background on her magistrate-era screening practice.

Pending matters in the official report

Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.

Motions pending more than six months0
Bench trials submitted more than six months0
Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months0
Social Security appeals pending more than six months0
Civil cases pending more than three years0
ReportMotions over six monthsCases over three years
Mar 202600
Sep 202500
Mar 202500
Sep 202401
Mar 202401
Sep 202300
Mar 202300
Sep 202200
Mar 202200
Sep 202100
Mar 202100
Sep 202030

A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.

How long civil cases take in this court

For the whole of United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, not for Judge Becerra: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

CasesMedian time
All civil cases closed8,1963.4 months
Closed with no court action8483 months
Closed before pretrial7,2873.5 months
Closed during or after pretrial1610.1 months
Closed during trial4517.1 months
12 months endingCases closedMedian time
Sep 20258,1963.4 months
Sep 20247,7553.6 months
Sep 202320,4080 months
Sep 20228,2873.7 months
Sep 20218,5363.2 months
Sep 20208,6573.4 months
Sep 20199,4713.7 months

The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).

Draft for Judge Becerra with the record in hand

Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Becerra, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

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