Southern District of Division

The Southern District of Florida, Miami Division draws jurors from Miami-Dade County only. The Federal Courthouse is Hialeah in the county seat of Miami. With a population just Miami over 2.6 million, Miami-Dade County is the most populous county in the southeastern Miami-Dade and the seventh largest in the nation. It is bound by Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, to the west, the Florida Keys to the south, and Broward County to the north. The City of Miami represents about 16 percent of the overall population of Miami-Dade County.

The jury pool in this venue is generated from lists of registered voters and lists of people with driver’s licenses in Miami-Dade County. Jurors complete a preliminary questionnaire to determine if they are qualified to serve then are randomly selected for service from the pool of pre-qualified jurors. Jurors in this division are on call for a two-week term of service and are paid $40.00 per day plus mileage expenses.

Following the Civil War, the Homestead Act offered land grants and encouraged settlers to come to the area. In 1896, the railroad came to Miami, and that same year, the city of Miami was incorporated.

Miami experienced a real estate boom following the arrival of the railroad; however, development was slowed by a major hurricane in 1926 and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. The Depression led to widespread unemployment in the area, and a large camp for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established in Miami-Dade in the 1930s. The CCC was responsible for the major development of many green spaces and parks in the area.

During World War II, Miami became a major training location for U.S. Army and Naval troops, and after the war, Miami-Dade County experienced significant population growth—the population rose from www.thefocalpoint.com | © The Focal Point LLC 2018 approximately 29,000 in 1920 to over 249,000 by 1950. The post-World War II years also brought an increase in the role of tourism in the area.

The 1959 Communist Revolution in Cuba was the beginning of large-scale immigration from Cuba to Miami. Early immigrants were largely political exiles and members of Cuba’s social elite who came under great pressure from the new communist regime. In the first 15 years after the revolution, almost half a million Cubans came to . Cuban immigrants in later waves—including over 400,000 since 1980—represent both political exiles and those seeking better economic conditions and opportunities. Cuban immigration has had a significant impact on the social, cultural, and political makeup of modern Miami.

Over half of all Miami-Dade residents are foreign born and almost two-thirds of the residents are of Hispanic or Latino descent. Seventy-two percent of residents five years or older speak a language other than English at home. Thirty-four percent of the Hispanic population in this venue is of Cuban descent. In fact, of the U.S. communities with significant Cuban and Cuban American populations, 24 of the top 25 communities are within Miami- Dade County. Since President Barack Obama announced a renewal of ties with the island nation in late 2014, the Cuban population in Miami-Dade are expected to continue to increase, even as President Donald Trump has pledged to roll back some of the initiatives. However, it is important to note that although Hispanics and Latinos represent a large percentage of the population in the venue, they may be underrepresented on juries due to citizenship status or language barriers.

Population Miami Division Florida Statewide

Total Population 2,664,418 19,934,451 White 14.5% 55.6% Hispanic 66.4% 24.1% Black 16.6% 15.4% Asian 1.5% 2.6%

In 2018, the Miami-Dade County Public School System was the fourth largest public-school district in the nation, serving over 350,000 students. Miami-Dade County is home to many colleges and universities including: , Florida International University, Miami Dade College, , Nova Southeastern University, Florida Memorial University, and St. Thomas University.

Education Miami Division Florida Statewide

High School or Less 47.7% 42.0% Some College or Associate’s Degree 25.0% 30.1% Bachelor’s Degree 17.4% 17.8% Graduate or Professional Degree 9.9% 10.0% www.thefocalpoint.com | © The Focal Point LLC 2018 Miami-Dade County remains a stronghold for the Democratic Party and has voted Democratic in the last seven presidential elections, including the most recent election where more than half of the votes were case for Hillary Clinton, and only a little over a third for Donald Trump.

Many political viewpoints in the county are directly influenced by the policies impacting Cuba. For example, the early Cuban immigrants in South Florida supported strong sanctions against Castro’s Cuba, and their ability to mobilize the vote has made the Cuban community an important political influence in Florida and national politics. This is because many Cuban-Americans maintain strong ties to family and friends in Cuba, and despite the U.S. embargo, significant financial support makes its way from Cuban immigrants in Miami to Cuba. Additionally, given renewed ties between the U.S. and Cuba, it is expected that international American-Cuban policy will continue to be a significant factor in Miami-Dade County voting trends.

The most recent election illustrates the contrast that Miami-Dade County has in relation to other counties and how race and ethnic identity remain a significant political factor. Unlike most of the other counties, non-Hispanic whites are not the largest group of voters in Miami-Dade. Only slightly more than 18 percent of its voters identified themselves as non-Hispanic white, and 17 percent identified themselves as African-American, not Hispanic. More than half (57%) of Miami-Dade’s registered voters identified themselves as Hispanic. In contrast, more than 64 percent of Florida’s registered voters are white. Only 16 percent of the state’s registrants are Hispanic.

At the time of the 2016 general election, more than 42 percent of its registered voters were Democrats making them the largest partisan group. Those with no party affiliation (NPA) comprised the second largest group of voters at 29 percent. Republicans only accounted for 27 percent of registered voters. Minor parties claimed about 2 percent of the county’s electorate. Statewide, Democrats were still the largest partisan group, but at 28 percent, their percentage of the electorate was 14 percent points less than in Miami-Dade County. Republicans comprised the second largest group of Florida voters, with 35 percent of registered voters—8 percentage points higher than in Miami-Dade County. NPAs accounted for 24 percent of the state’s registered voters. Minor parties only accounted for about 3 percent of registrations. In sum, Miami-Dade County had not only far more Democratic voters than the state as a whole, it also had considerably more non-affiliated voters and far fewer Republican voters. Research also shows that support for Democratic presidential candidates has been steadily increasing in the county since the 2000 election, while support for the Republican candidates has declined considerably. This trend continued through 2016 where Clinton did indeed win a slightly larger percentage of the vote than President Obama did in 2012 (63% to 62%, respectively).

2016 Presidential Clinton Trump Election Miami-Dade County 63.7% 34.1% Florida Statewide 47.8% 49.1% www.thefocalpoint.com | © The Focal Point LLC 2018 Poverty remains a significant issue in Miami-Dade County with 18.2 percent of people living below the poverty line. Use of food stamps is one of the highest in the nation; 24 percent of all households in Miami-Dade County use food stamps. There are 548,782 children under the age of 18 in Miami-Dade and more than one quarter of them, 27.4 percent, live in poverty.

Hiring in Miami-Dade’s local public sector including the public-school systems has not rebounded since the recent economic recession, continuing an 11-year decline. There has been a recent uptick in overall job growth, with the leisure and hospitality sector leading the way for the county, along with wholesale trade, professional business services, and financial activities. However, there has been a decline in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Unemployment rates (5.0% as of March 2018) have been slowly declining since the recession, but wages have not been as quick to return to pre-2008 levels, and in some cases have seen real wage decline.

Household Data Miami Division Florida Statewide

Median Value of Home $221,100 $173,923 Median Household Income $44,224 $49,141 Home Ownership 52.6% 64.8%

The largest employment sectors in Miami-Dade County include international trade, tourism, government, transportation, healthcare, and education. Over 1,100 multinational companies have a base in Miami, with many U.S. companies using Miami as the home for their Latin American divisions, including: American Airlines, Caterpillar, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Novartis, Oracle, Exxon-Mobil, FedEx, UPS, and Kraft Foods. Miami is also home to many Spanish-language media companies including HBO Latin America, , Universal Music Latin Entertainment, and Univision.

Miami-Dade County was greatly affected by the recent economic recession. The tourism industry suffered during the heart of the recession, but it was one of first sectors of the Miami-Dade economy to recover strongly. Like many metropolitan areas, the hardest hit sectors in the Miami-Dade economy were construction and real estate. Construction suffered the largest employment losses of any sector; between 2006 and 2009, nearly one in four construction industry jobs in Miami-Dade County was lost. The uncertainty in the residential real estate market led to a strong rental market, higher rental prices and a rental vacancy rate of only 4.2 percent. The real estate market experienced a strong resurgence by 2012, and this sector contributed over 30 percent of new economic growth to the Miami-Dade economy. After several years of steady gains, the outlook for the Miami-Dade real estate market growth has started to slow in the upcoming years.

www.thefocalpoint.com | © The Focal Point LLC 2018 In the labor market, the average weekly wage in 2017 for a Miami-Dade County worker across all industries was up 2 percent from $837 in 2016, after adjusting for inflation. Additionally, the labor force increased by 2.7 percent and employment increased by 3.8 percent.

It is estimated that the embargo costs the U.S. economy $1.2 billion per year in lost sales and exports and $3.6 billion in economic output. Following the attempt by the President Obama to establish relations with Cuba, the economic outlook was expected improve in the U.S., especially in Miami-Dade County. However, with recent pledges by President Trump to roll back many of these initiatives, the future is more uncertain.

Major Employers in Miami Division Education and Government Healthcare and Financial Tourism, Retail, and Corporate • University of Miami • Baptist Health South Florida • American Airlines • Miami-Dade Public Schools • Bank of America • Precision Response • Miami-Dade County • Wells Fargo (Wachovia) Corporation • Federal Government • Mount Sinai Medical Center • Florida Power & Light Company • Florida International • Miami Children’s Hospital • Carnival Cruise Lines University • Jackson Health System • Winn-Dixie Stores • Miami-Dade College • Assurant Solutions • City of Miami • AT&T • Homestead AFB • Royal Caribbean • Publix Super Markets

The following resources were used in the construction of this document: American Community Survey Florida Fair Elections Coalition Miami Herald Business Miami-Dade Economic Yearbook Miamidade.gov Pew Hispanic Center Proximity One The Beacon Council U.S. Census

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