In the Multicultural Center on March 18, Minorities in Law, in collaboration with MEXSA (Mexican Student Association) and Los Latinos Unidos, hosted a discussion with Judge Julio Mendez to talk about Mendez’s experiences regarding his career in law and the criminal justice system, as well as to give advice to aspiring lawyers at Stockton, especially those belonging to marginalized communities. Attendees were provided with lemonade, water, coffee, hot chocolate, and pizza while they listened to Mendez’s stories about his long-running career.

Mendez spoke of his experiences as both a lawyer and a judge. While he has handled high-profile cases involving famous names, the cases that impacted him most were the smaller cases. He expressed how his experience in criminal court differed from family court, and how he preferred the former. Mendez was a criminal court judge in Cumberland County for 20 years. He mentioned, “As soon as I was comfortable in criminal court, they moved me to family court”, with a chuckle. In family court, Mendez dealt with child protection cases, many of which involved difficult decisions to decide which parent would gain full custody of their child. He was initially reluctant to deal with family court cases, but then realized, “I can really make a difference in people’s lives”. Mendez recalled the most difficult cases in which both parents would be “good” parents, but only one would receive custody. He then joked that once again, when he had felt comfortable with family court, he was moved to Atlantic County to be a chief judge by the chief of justice.

Ashley Ramirez, the Vice President of Minorities in Law, is Mendez’s mentee. Having great admiration and respect for him, she asked him to give insight and advice to her fellow peers in her career path. “We have [two things] in common: both being Latino, and both wanting to pursue the legal field”, Ramirez commented. “We think Latino representation in the legal field is very important, so we want [more] Latino lawyers, judges, attorneys; we want to see them in court”. With this event, Ramirez hoped to promote Latino representation in law and criminal justice, as well as other professional fields such as medicine and engineering. She is a junior pursuing a degree in Political Science with a concentration in Pre-Law.

Stherlie Previlon, President of Minorities in Law, shares Ramirez’s passion for her career. She expressed, “This event was great, especially for those aspiring to go to law school, to sit and hear somebody’s perspective [on going] from a lawyer to a judge”. While Minorities in Law had worked with Judge Mendez before at a smaller event, Previlon was happy with the larger turnout of the discussion and hoped students were inspired.

Mendez read a quote off one of the Multicultural Center’s walls, which states, “The future of the world is in this room”. He expressed, “I truly believe that; that’s the reason why I’m here. I am here to inspire the students, to provide them with experience and wisdom, and to make a difference. I love doing these kinds of events.” Mendez was impressed with Stockton’s students and felt hopeful that Stockton’s community would make a large difference in our future.