Judge Panayotta Augustin-Birch

Federal Building and Courthouse 299 East Broward Boulevard Room 205E Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 Directions

Chambers (954) 769-5460

Judge's Biography

Panayotta Augustin-Birch was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida in September 2022.  She is assigned to the Fort Lauderdale division.  Prior to taking the bench, she was an Assistant Federal PublicDefender in the Federal Public Defender’s Office in West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce from 2008-2022.  She represented individuals charged with federal criminal offenses.  Her duties included trial and court hearings, direct appeals to the circuit court, post-conviction and witness representation, and representation in other matters such as supervised release hearings and probation and parole hearings.  Before joining the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Ms. Augustin-Birch was an Assistant Public Defender in the Law Office of the Public Defender for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida.  Judge Augustin-Birch obtained her bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic University (’97) and her law degree from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall Law School (’00).

Communication

Law clerks may be contacted regarding procedural questions.  Law clerks may not be asked substantive legal questions, and they cannot provide advice on how to handle legal questions.  When you contact Chambers, please have the case number and the name of the presiding Judge available, as this will be the first question asked so that we may better assist you.  Absent a true emergency, counsel of record shall not contact Chambers to ask questions concerning the status of pending matters.

Electronic Equipment

Parties seeking to bring electronic equipment into court shall comply with Administrative Order 2018-79. Motions to admit electronic equipment must be filed at least 72 hours in advance of the hearing or trial.

Administrative Order 2018-79

Discovery Procedures

Standing Discovery Order

Motion Practice-Next Generation Lawyers

Ordinarily, only one attorney for each party may argue at a hearing.  However, the Court has a strong commitment to supporting the development of our next generation of attorneys and encourages the participation of less-experienced attorneys during court proceedings.  Should a party advise the Court prior to the beginning of a hearing that an attorney with five or fewer years of experience will be arguing a matter, the Court will permit multiple attorneys to argue on that party’s behalf.