Tri-Cities judge becomes first Hispanic from WA to join 9th Circuit Court
A Tri-City judge on Monday became the first Hispanic from Washington to be named to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The senate confirmed the nomination of U.S. District Court Judge Sal Mendoza in a 46-40 vote to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
A lifelong resident of Washington and Prosser High School graduate, Mendoza grew up working the crops of the Mid-Columbia alongside his parents. There were times he rushed home to change clothes before going to school.
He graduated from the University of Washington in 1994, and then from law school at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1997. He returned to Washington, working as a assistant attorney general, and as a Franklin County deputy prosecutor before starting his own practice in 1999.
Then in 2013, he became the first Latino on the Benton-Franklin Superior Court, before being named to the U.S. District Court in 2014.
His nomination, along with four other federal judicial nomination, were aimed at making the courts reflect the country’s diversity, according to the announcement from the White House.
During his nomination hearing, Mendoza highlighted the importance of mentorships in making the judiciary more diverse, according to the online publication Law.com.
“One of the great opportunities we have as judges is to talk to different groups of students and provide the inspiration that you speak of,” he said. “Making sure that they understand that regardless of what obstacles they faced — whether they were on food stamps, as I was, whether they live in public housing, as I did, whether they had to learn a different language growing up, as I did — that those are not obstacles.”
Senator reactions
Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell celebrated his selection, saying that it was a historic moment.
Murray recommended Mendoza, who is the sixth from Washington during this Congress, to be appointed.
“Judge Mendoza has been a trailblazer, focused on a building a more fair and just legal system that works for everyone — not just the wealthy and well-off,” Murray said in a release.
“In his time on the bench in the Eastern District (of Washington), he has presided over nearly 1,500 cases — including appellate cases — where he treated every party who came before him with fairness and respect,” she said.
Mendoza briefly worked for the senator as an intern.
He will also bring the perspective of someone whose parents immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. and worked as farm laborers, Murray said.
He established the first drug court in Benton and Franklin counties, building a more fair and just legal system for everyone, not just the wealthy and powerful, she said.
He also was a proponent of equal access to justice through his work with Benton-Franklin Legal Aid Society and served as a trustee for Columbia Basin College in Pasco.
Cantwell, who also recommended Mendoza for appointment, said he was an outstanding judge and community leader.
“This is a historic moment, if confirmed, Judge Mendoza would be the first Hispanic judge to serve on the Ninth Circuit from Washington,” Cantwell said as she spoke from the floor in the Senate. “I know Judge Mendoza will make an excellent addition to the Ninth Circuit Court.”