Ed Artau

On May 28, 2025, President Trump nominated Ed Artau to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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Biography

Ed Artau earned his B.S. from Nova Southeastern University in 1985 and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1988.

Legal Experience

Artau began his career as an associate at Hodgson Russ LLP (1988–1993) and later as a senior associate at Proskauer Rose LLP (1993–1996).

He then became a partner at Marks & Artau, P.A. (1996–2004) before serving as General Counsel for the South Florida Water Management District (2004–2014). He was appointed a trial court judge in Florida’s Fifteenth Judicial Circuit (2014–2020), and in 2020, he was elevated to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, where he currently serves. He also began teaching as an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University College of Law in 2024.

Throughout his career, Artau has been involved in several controversial cases and incidents that reflect his legal philosophy and public record.

• In 1995, Artau was investigated for ethics violations after allegedly advocating for a judicial nominee whose husband had helped secure his appointment to a judicial nominating commission. The governor’s office found he had acted improperly.
• Broward County v. Florida Carry, Inc., Artau concurred in a decision invalidating a local ordinance that restricted carrying firearms in airport areas not subject to security screening.
• H.S. v. Department of Children & Families (2024), Artau sided with a parent opposing their child’s access to gender-affirming care, criticizing a lower court judge for referring to the child by their chosen name and pronouns.
• Q.H. v. Sunshine State Health Plan (2020), he dissented from a majority opinion that would have allowed Medicaid coverage for elective growth hormone therapy.
• Artau also played a significant role in environmental litigation while at the South Florida Water Management District, including a major Clean Water Act case (Friends of the Everglades v. SFWMD), challenging federal authority to regulate state water management operations.