Jamaica Plain resident Vanessa Vélez was nominated by Governor Maura Healey to be an associate justice for the Boston Municipal Court.
Vanessa Vélez
The nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation.
Rebeca G. Figueroa and Steven S. Kim were also nominated.
The Boston Municipal Court Department serves Boston, and handles both criminal and civil matters. The Boston Municipal Court Department has 30 judges in eight court divisions located in Brighton, Central (downtown), Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Roxbury, South Boston, and West Roxbury. The Boston Municipal Court also has jurisdiction to review appeals of decisions made by some government agencies on issues such as unemployment compensation and firearms licensing, according to a press release.
Vélez is currently the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Private Counsel Division for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, where she oversees the delivery of legal services to 80% of indigent clients in Massachusetts through assigned private attorneys, according to a press release. Her management extends to various units under the Private Counsel Division, including the Criminal Trial Support, Appeals & Post-Conviction, Parole Advocacy, Alternative Commitment and Registration, Innocence Program, Immigration Impact Unit, and Social Services Advocacy.
For 18 years, she has represented clients as a public defender for the Committee for Public Counsel Services and as a bar advocate in private practice. She worked as the Attorney-in-Charge and the Supervising Attorney for the CPCS Boston Trial Office.
Vélez has been a faculty member in the Trial Advocacy Workshop of Harvard Law School. Most recently, she participated in various commissions and subcommittees focused on increasing court access, equity and public trust in our legal system. She is a member of the Alternative Paths to Licensure subcommittee of the Massachusetts SJC's Steering Committee on Bar Admissions.
She was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States when she was 18 to further her education. She holds a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law. She lives in Jamaica Plain.