{"id":14439,"date":"2018-12-27T04:33:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T10:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/?p=14439"},"modified":"2018-12-21T14:53:37","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T20:53:37","slug":"pathbreaking-jurist-keeps-focus-on-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2018\/12\/27\/pathbreaking-jurist-keeps-focus-on-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Pathbreaking jurist keeps focus on justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"District Judge Sophia Vuelo \u201998 (HUSL)<\/strong> is one of 29 judges in the 2nd Judicial District of Minnesota, which serves Ramsey County. Her foremost responsibility, she said, is the pursuit of justice.<\/p>\n

Putting on a judge\u2019s black robe means setting aside one\u2019s personal history and views because of the \u201chigh expectation that you\u2019re above all of that,\u201d Vuelo said.<\/p>\n

In Vuelo\u2019s case, however, her history involves an extraordinary journey from fleeing war-torn Laos as a child to resettling in Eau Claire, Wis., and, after earning her law degree at Hamline University School of Law, practicing law for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n

That was before Vuelo made headlines on November 30, 2017<\/a>, when she was appointed as the first Minnesota judge of Hmong descent and only the third Hmong-American to serve as a judge in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cI happen to have had that life experience, but at the core of me is a jurist whose role is to serve the people who live in this community, here in Ramsey County, and to ensure that we are doing nothing short of dispensing justice,\u201d Vuelo said.<\/p>\n

It is not lost on Vuelo what her judicial appointment means to others, that a particular milestone has been reached. The significance to the community, however, didn\u2019t strike her until she saw the response at her investiture ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was only in other people telling me what it meant to them that I\u2019ve been able to soak all that in,\u201d Vuelo said. \u201cPeople look at me and it gives them a sense of hope that we all have a place at the table where justice is dispensed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vuelo believes it was important to have extensive legal experience before applying for a judgeship. As an attorney, she was in courtrooms regularly and focused on three areas of the law \u2014 criminal, family, and juvenile protection. She has worked in the Ramsey County Attorney\u2019s Office, Ramsey County Public Defender\u2019s Office, and managed a solo practice.<\/p>\n

Vuelo began thinking about law school as a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, where she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in history and women\u2019s studies. She chose Hamline Law because she wanted to attend a school with an emphasis on public law.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was raised in a household that emphasized giving back to one\u2019s community, so that has shaped me to serve our community,\u201d Vuelo said.<\/p>\n

On the bench, Vuelo tries to be empathetic and efficient. \u201cMy judicial philosophy is to be compassionate, competent, and community centered,\u201d Vuelo said. She has a parting message for some who appear before her: \u201cI tell them I hope they do well so I never have to see them in the courtroom again. I care about the people in our community yet hold individuals accountable where necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vuelo typically spends five days a week in court and does research and writes orders on nights and weekends. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of hard work,\u201d Vuelo said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a job that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd Nelson is a freelance journalist in the Twin Cities.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

District Judge Sophia Vuelo \u201998 (HUSL) is one of 29 judges in the 2nd Judicial District of Minnesota, which serves Ramsey County. Her foremost responsibility, she said, is the pursuit of justice. Putting on a judge\u2019s black robe means setting aside one\u2019s personal history and views because of the \u201chigh expectation that you\u2019re above all … <\/p>\n

Pathbreaking jurist keeps focus on justice<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4909,"featured_media":14455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-alumni","8":"category-features","9":"category-news","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4909"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}