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For Cristina Rivera Correa, serving as County Court Judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit has been a dream come true.
She is someone who views the American judicial system as a foundation of democracy and a beacon of justice for the rest of the world.
Judge Correa has served as a County Court Judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit since the governor appointed her in 2020. She currently presides over misdemeanor criminal and traffic matters, as well as acts in the capacity of a Circuit Court Judge in the domestic violence division.
“I am truly living my dream,” she said. “The way I give back to the community is through public service.”
Prior to her appointment to the bench, Correa was an assistant Miami-Dade County Public Schools Board Attorney for seven years. In this role, she litigated civil cases — including labor and tort matters — in state, federal and administrative court. In her initial jury trial as counsel for the school board, Correa secured the first defense verdict in favor of the board in over 20 years. Additionally, she served as the training attorney to Miami-Dade Schools Police Department on legal issues for Florida Department of Law Enforcement certification. Correa is the first attorney from the School Board Attorney’s Office to become a judge.
Before joining the School Board Attorney’s Office, she was a prosecutor at the Miami-Dade County Office of the State Attorney from 2010-13, where she tried misdemeanor and felony cases.
Correa was selected to deliver the commencement speech on behalf of the student body at her graduation from Florida International University College of Law. Judge Correa also is the first female FIU law graduate to be appointed to the bench.
Correa was born and raised in Miami-Dade after her family fled communist Cuba in the pursuit of freedom. She was a student of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence and International Studies Programs before attending Our Lady of Lourdes Academy for high school where she was a member of the Lourdes Singers and had the honor of singing at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 2009, she was selected as Miss Carnaval Miami serving as an ambassador for the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana and furthering the foundation’s mission to assist the financially underserved Hispanic youth of Miami-Dade County.
Judge Correa is married to Nicolas Correa and together they have three children — Colette, 5, and twins Marcel and Margot, 2. Judge Correa enjoys spending time with her family, baking, crafting and contributing to her community, which has provided her countless opportunities.
