Andrew A. Valdez (born October 17, 1951) is a Utah Third District Juvenile Court

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

for

Salt Lake County, Utah Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The coun ...

. Valdez was born in

Northern New Mexico Northern New Mexico in cultural terms usually refers to the area of heavy-Spanish settlement in the north-central part of New Mexico. However, New Mexico state government also uses the term to mean the northwest and north central, but to exclude ...

and then migrated to Utah where he was educated in the

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

public school system before attending the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

and later the S.J. Quinney College of Law. After being admitted to the Utah bar, Valdez was a public defender for two years before becoming a part of the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called jud ...

(JAG corps) where Valdez spent three and a half years in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

. When Valdez returned home from the JAG Corps he once again resumed his position as trial counsel with the Legal Defenders Association

Felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

and

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

Division. Valdez spent 9 years working as a public defender and in 1993 he was appointed a Third District Juvenile Court Judge by then Governor

Michael O. Leavitt Michael Okerlund Leavitt (born February 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as the 14th Governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003 in the Republican Party, as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2003 to 2005 and ...

Early life

Valdez was born in

to Victor Valdez and Jeanie Sanchez. Valdez and his 3 siblings migrated to

in 1954 where his parents were determined to find financially stable work.Interview of Judge Andrew Valdez in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 28, 2011 As a boy Valdez worked as a shoe-shiner and eventually began selling papers when he was eight years old on the corner of Main Street and 200 South in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. As a boy Valdez knew he wanted to be a lawyer, while selling papers he was always impressed by lawyer's demeanor and their dress attire. When Andrew Valdez was 10 years old he met a man named Jack Keller who subsequently changed Valdez and his life's direction. Keller brought a whole new world to Andrew's eyes taking him to the Law School at the

, liberty park and introducing Valdez to

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

which became ultimately part of his lifelong goal and passion. Valdez attended West High School in

where he continued to play

and graduated with his diploma in 1970. Directly after attending West High, Valdez enrolled in the

majoring in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. Valdez walked on to the

team and competed, however, he put more effort into being a part of student politics at school by involving himself with the war movement, U of U assembly, Chicano student assembly and being a member of the Hinckley Institute of Politics.

Legal career

After graduating law school, Valdez began his professional career as a public defender with the Legal Defenders Association

and

Division. He spent two years working in Utah before he joined JAG Corps and worked as a lawyer in the military for three and a half years. During his time in the JAG Corps Valdez was on the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

tennis team and competed against other players within

. After serving time in the JAG Corps Valdez returned home to

and resumed working as a public defender. In 1993 after spending 9 years working in

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

and

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

cases, Valdez was appointed to Utah Third District Juvenile Court. Valdez was the first Hispanic and first public defender to be appointed to the Utah district court. Since being appointed Valdez has served as chair of the statewide Youth Parole Authority, and on the Utah Sentencing Commission, the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

for Primary Children’s Medical Center, the Juvenile Justice Task Force, the Board of Juvenile Court Judges, the Judicial Council, and is currently a member of the National Youth Gang Center.Utah State Courts - Judges' Biographies
/ref> Valdez was certified by the Utah Judicial Council as qualified to stand for judicial retention election in 2008 and was subsequently re-elected. Judge Valdez has also developed a tennis based mentoring program that goes on at Liberty Park in

where troubled youth take part in learning the game of tennis. In this program Valdez has hopes of helping kids stay off of the streets and out of gangs by introducing the sport of

Awards

Judge Valdez was honored in 2003 with the

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Civil Rights Award by the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. In 2005, the Footprinter’s Association Law Enforcement Office of the Year Award, the Utah Children Advocate of the Year Award and the Utah State Bar Judge of the Year Award. Valdez was also awarded the Caesar Chavez Peace and Justice Award and the Pete Suazo Community Service Award.

Personal life

Valdez is married Joyce P. Valdez who is a part of the

at the

and together they have four kids. Valdez has written a book named ''No One Makes it Alone'', which is an autobiography of him and his relationship with his mentor Jack Keller and how Keller gave Valdez a job and the ambition to become a lawyer and ultimately a

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdez, Andrew 1951 births Living people 20th-century American judges Hispanic and Latino American judges Public defenders S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni Utah state court judges University of Utah alumni

Early life

Legal career

Awards

Personal life

See also

References