Aileen Cannon is a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020 after a career as a federal prosecutor and corporate lawyer. Born in Colombia and raised in Miami, she gained national attention in 2022 when she presided over Trump v. United States, ordering a special master to review seized documents—a decision the Eleventh Circuit sharply reversed for overstepping her jurisdiction. In 2023, she was assigned to oversee Trump's federal criminal case regarding classified documents, where her rulings led to significant trial delays and, in July 2024, a full dismissal of the case on the grounds that Special Counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional. That ruling was appealed, but the appeal was dropped after Trump's 2024 presidential victory. Her handling of both cases has drawn intense criticism from legal experts, who allege bias and question her impartiality, making her one of the most scrutinized federal judges in recent history.