Salvador Mendoza: From migrant farm worker to federal judge
Salvador Mendoza, Jr., who grew up as a migrant farm worker, will become the first Latino federal judge in Eastern Washington. The Senate confirmed Mendoza…
On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Salvador Mendoza as the first Latino federal judge in Eastern Washington. (Photo credit: Mendoza Law Office)
Salvador Mendoza, Jr., who grew up as a migrant farm worker, will become the first Latino federal judge in Eastern Washington.
The Senate confirmed Mendoza on Tuesday with a 92-4 vote. The vote came several days after President Barack Obama nominated Mendoza for the position of U.S. district judge.
Mendoza is currently a judge at the Superior Court for Benton and Franklin counties. Early in his career, he worked briefly as an intern for Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday to urge her colleagues to support Mendozas nomination.
Its not every day that I get to support a nominee who also happens to be former intern in my Senate office, Murray said. But its also not every day that a man who is the son of migrant farm workers and himself worked on farms in the Yakima Valley is called on by the President of the United States to become the very first Latino federal judge in the Eastern District of Washington.
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Mendoza grew up in a family of migrant workers who moved from California to Washingtons Yakima Valley when he was a child. He worked alongside his parents in the fields before going on to earn a bachelors degree from the University of Washington in 1994. His legal career kicked off shortly after he earned a law degree from UCLA School of Law in 1997.
Mendoza’s involvement in the legal system and his community
Salvador Mendoza, Jr.
Mendozas impressive resume includes serving as assistant attorney general for the state of Washington and deputy prosecuting attorney for Franklin County. He has also worked in private practice, and he spent about a decade serving as judge pro-tem for Benton and Franklin counties as well as the Franklin County Juvenile District Court.
Besides having an extensive legal background, Mendoza has also served as a community leader.
He helped launch the juvenile drug court program for Benton and Franklin counties to provide opportunities for treatment for juvenile drug offenders. He is also a main organizer of the Tri-Cities Youth and Justice Forum, an organization that encourages students from underrepresented communities to seek careers within the legal system.
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Through the Legal Aide of Benton and Franklin Counties, Mendoza has also provided legal assistance to low-income people who would otherwise be denied access to the justice system because they cannot afford to pay the cost of counsel. And he has been a board member for various groups, including United Way, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Basin College Board of Trustees.
Furthermore, Mendoza is a representation of the states growing Latino population. A demographic profile put together by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that about 790,000 Latinos lived in Washington in 2011, making up 12 percent of the states population.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) joined Murray on the House floor Tuesday to talk about the historical significance of Mendozas confirmation as it relates to the states Latino community.
That is a major step forward and one that is long overdue, Cantwell said, referring to Mendoza becoming the first Hispanic federal judge in Eastern Washington. One in every nine residents of Washington state is Hispanic and yet we have not had a Hispanic federal judge in the Eastern part of our state.
Judge Mendoza is the right man for the job and hes ready to make history, she continued.
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