JUSTICE VELA'S TEXAS ROOTS RUN DEEP
She Worked Various Jobs To Become The First In Her Family to Graduate From College
Justice Vela's Texas roots date back to the 19th century and cover all regions of the state. She is a direct descendant of Abe Rutledge who came to Texas from Alabama in the 1870s and who became one of the first public officials in Hidalgo County. Her mother was born in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle and her father in the Rio Grande Valley town of Mercedes. Justice Vela was born in 1964 into a military family at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio. The daughter of a retired senior master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, Justice Vela has a reputation as a no-nonsense, conservative judge who knows the value of hard work. Her story is one that proves that determination, hard work and a good education can bring the American dream to every child.
As a high school student Justice Vela worked as a grocery clerk, a typist and a data entry clerk while attending South San Antonio High School. In college, she served up burgers and worked as a resident assistant to help pay her way through Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Political Science in 1985 within three years at the age of 20. In 1988, Justice Vela received her Doctorate of Jurisprudence from St. Mary’s University School of Law.
This same determination has served Justice Vela well during her career as an attorney and a judge. She began her legal career as an appellate briefing attorney for the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio and subsequently served as an appellate briefing attorney for the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi and Edinburg, the Court over which she now presides. During her 12 year tenure as a practicing attorney focusing on the practice of appellate law, Justice Vela served as counsel in many civil matters. Her appellate experience included the representation of doctors and other parties in appeals before various Courts of Appeals and in the Texas Supreme Court.
In 1998 Justice Vela was elected to the 148th District Court of Nueces County where she served two terms presiding over a court that handled civil legal disputes, criminal and family law matters. As a trial judge, Justice Vela disposed of thousands of cases during her tenure. In addition to the many civil and family law matters, Justice Vela presided over murder trials which required the imposition of the penalty of death and many life sentences. Justice Vela also had the pleasure of presiding over many adoptions in which she was able to share in the joy of families beginning a new life.
In 2006, Justice Vela made history by becoming the first Republican ever elected to the heavily Democratic 13th Court of Appeals, a 20 county area ranging from the southernmost tip of Texas to areas just south of San Antonio and Houston. In her current position, Justice Vela hears all cases appealed from District and County Courts in her region. Since assuming this position she has authored hundreds of opinions in complex civil, criminal and family law cases and has worked, along with her colleagues, to significantly reduce the backlog and improve the efficiency of the Court.
Upon graduation from law school, Justice Vela served as a Briefing Attorney for the Fourth Court of Appeals for one year.
American Inns of Court