Judge Vanessa Velasquez was appointed to preside in
the 183rd Criminal District Court in October 2005 by
Texas Gov. Rick Perry. She won her first four-year term in 2006 and
is seeking her second full term in 2010.
Perry praised Judge Velasquez’s record as a
prosecutor when she was appointed.
“Vanessa Velasquez did such a great job as a
prosecutor in Harris County that I appointed her to be District
Judge,” the governor said in 2005. “Judge Velasquez will be a
conservative judge of whom we can all be proud.”
Judge Velasquez has not disappointed.
She has consistently been one of the highest-rated
criminal judges in local bar polls. She understands the perspectives
from both sides since she has worked both as a defense attorney and
a prosecutor.
Judge Velasquez joined the Harris County District
Attorney’s Office in 1990, served as a chief felony prosecutor and
worked there until her judicial appointment.
During her 15-year stint as a prosecutor, Judge
Velasquez was Chief Prosecutor in the Special Crime/Major Offenders
Division, a prosecutor in the Major Offenders and Narcotics Division
and Chief Prosecutor in the 228th Criminal District
Court, the174th Criminal District Court and the 184th
Criminal District Court.
She also served as Chief Prosecutor in the Probable
Cause Court and was a Deputy Chief Prosecutor in the Misdemeanor
Division.
As a prosecutor, Judge Velasquez was the lead
attorney in more than 100 jury trials and she tried nine death
penalty cases. She prosecuted the toughest criminals – gang members,
drug dealers and other major offenders. Her work and her judicial
appointment earned her high praise from her former boss – former
Harris County District Attorney John B. Holmes Jr.
“As a prosecutor, Judge Vanessa Velasquez
demonstrated skill, good judgment and integrity,” Holmes said in
2006. “I know she’s carried those traits with her to the bench and
that she will continue to be an outstanding judge.”
Judge Velasquez is a graduate of the University of
Houston and the South Texas College of Law. She is a member of the
Houston Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas and St. Michael’s
Catholic Church. She is also a former mentor at Jeff Davis High
School.
She also serves as an adjunct professor at the
University of Houston Law Center, where she has taught trial
advocacy since 2008, and is one of four criminal district judges
presiding over the highly-successful STAR (Success Through Addiction
Recovery) Drug Court.
