Longtime attorney runs for Civil Court in Queens

By Jacob Kaye

Sandra Perez may have grown up in Manhattan, but for nearly the entirety of her professional career, she’s called Queens her home.

Now, Perez, a litigation attorney, is running for a spot in the Civil Court bench in the World’s Borough.

The attorney is making her bid for the Democratic nomination for the borough’s countywide Civil Court vacancy. It’s a contested race – attorney Marianne Gonzalez is also running for the Democratic nomination.

But Perez, who was approved by both the Queens County Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association, says her experience sets her apart.

An attorney for nearly three decades, Perez got her start as an assistant district attorney in the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. After several years there, she transitioned over to private practice, representing clients in criminal defense, immigration cases, deportation cases and similar cases.

She’s also worked on some personal injury and civil law cases.

But Perez said she’s drawn to criminal defense, and in particular, immigration law cases, because of her personal connection to them.

“I was thrust into immigration just by being in the Queen's community, by virtue of being in the community and having this diverse culture of clients who had these issues,” Perez said.

Perez is also one of the founding members of the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, a bar association that has successfully advocated for the election and appointment of Latino judges in recent years. One of its members, Joseph Zayas, was recently named the state’s chief administrative judge, the second-most powerful judicial position in the state.

Despite the bar association’s success in elevating judges, Perez said that was never the goal.

“It was about that camaraderie and that unity and then what has evolved from there has been fascinating to watch,” Perez said.

“It grew from just that enthusiasm and that collaboration,” she added. “I think from there, amazing things happened because there was recognition for the organization.”

The candidate said that her motivation to run for the bench comes from her belief that the law has the power to change lives, something she said she’s seen with a number of her criminal defense clients who have been given a second chance.

“It is that kind of outcome and that work that drives me, that makes me love what I do, that makes me know that I've made a difference,” she said.

It’s an approach she says she’ll take to the bench if elected.

“I’m open minded and neutral, and not someone who is going to say that someone else is done, they’re dirt, they’re no good to society, they can’t change – I know that’s not true,” she said. “I think that having practiced this many years on both sides, it's really, really critically important to have judges that understand, that have been with the families and in the trenches, that have been at the police precinct when there's a lineup.”

“It's really important because it gives you a deeper perspective of not just the criminal justice system, but also what the families go through, what the evidence is, or what should be the procedures in a precinct,” she added.

Queens County Democratic Party-endorsed Civil Court judicial candidates have faced trouble in recent elections. In nearly every year dating back to 2019, a Queens Dems-endorsed candidate has lost either to a Republican candidate in the general election or a judicial candidate backed by disgraced former State Senator Hiram Monserrate in the primary.

Though Perez said she wouldn’t speak for past candidates, she said she’s spent the past several months hitting the streets of the borough speaking with voters.

“I'm trying to basically give the community as much information regarding my candidacy and the importance of having qualified, experienced candidates,” she said. “[Judges] hold an enormous responsibility and a duty to the people of Queens and to the community, and it's important that we have that experience to serve in that capacity.”