Justice Carmen Velasquez was sworn in as the first Latina president of the Supreme Court Justices group.
The Queens supreme court justice was sworn in on January 29th as president of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
The justice took the oath virtually due to COVID-19. She’s excited and ready to get to work. Velasquez stated, “ I’m very pleased and it’s an honor for me to preside over the organization, not just as a Latina but as a member of the judiciary so I am very happy.”
Justice Velasquez was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1960. Her family moved to Queen, New York in 1975, when she was 14 years old. She graduated from Long Island City High School in 1978.
She then went on to John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she received her BA in 1984. Temple University of Law gave her her law degree in 1987. She hustled as an intern for the Appellate Division 1st Department during the summer of 1986.
Velasquez is a founding member and past president and treasurer of the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, established in 1997.
