Justice Sandra Perez inducted into Supreme Court

Justice Sandra Perez was formally inducted to the Queens Supreme Court last week. She was sworn in by Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department Hector LaSalle.Eagle file photo by Noah Powelson

By Noah Powelson

Sandra Perez was one of the only Latina lawyers working in Queens’ Criminal Courthouse when she first walked into the building at the beginning of her career.

At the time, it wasn’t uncommon for court officers to stop her before she walked into a courtroom to represent a client and tell her that mothers, wives and other family members should wait outside.

“There were no Latina lawyers yet, there were no organizations, there were no boundaries, there were no clubs, there was no one to have your back,” Perez said. “If you did something wrong and the judge yelled at you, it must have been because you did something wrong, because you were out of line.”

The lifeline for her, Perez said, was the Queens County Bar Association. It was there she said she found a community of support, where former presidents Steven Singer and Leslie Nizin first gave her the idea of forming the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County to help other Latina lawyers like herself.

Now, over 30 years later, Perez was formally inducted as a Supreme Court justice in the very same courtroom she was repeatedly told to leave. Nizin himself presented her with a ceremonial gavel, a moment that Perez said felt “full circle” for her.

Perez was inducted to the Queens Supreme Court bench on Thursday, though she’s already been presiding over cases for the past six months. With dozens of friends and family in attendance, as well as some of Queens’ leading judges, Perez’s induction was celebrated as a milestone for the borough’s Latino community.

Justice Sandra Perez, third from left, was sworn into the Supreme Court last week. Photo via Perez

The new Supreme Court justice got her start as a prosecutor in the Brooklyn district attorney’s office before moving over to private practice, representing clients in criminal defense, immigration, and deportation cases. She practiced law for over 30 years, and was one founding member of the now highly-influential Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, a local bar association that’s seen a number of their members elected to the bench in recent years.

First nominated by the Queens Democratic Party for Civil Court in 2023, Perez faced an initial challenger in the primaries from attorney Marianne Gonzalez, but won the election by around 20,000 votes.

She then ran against the Republican nominee for the seat, Sharmela Bachu, who was also an attorney specializing in immigration and criminal defense law with 30 years’ experience. Perez won the election handily, securing over 90,000 votes and beating Bachu by 30 points in the final total.

Perez was also one of five judges elected to Queens Supreme Court in 2025. Perez accumulated over 600,000 votes, the most of any Supreme Court candidate that election.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Carmen Velasquez, who co-founded LLAQC alongside Perez, congratulated the new justice on Thursday. Velasquez shared a very similar career path to her LLAQC co-founder, and said she experienced the same discrimination coming up in the courthouse that Perez did. Perez’s induction to the Supreme Court, Velasquez said, was a celebration for how far they had come.

“We saw the injustices in Queens County at the time years ago, where lawyers were being disrespected, and that's when we decided to form the [the Latino Lawyers Association],” Velasquez said. “It's important that we acknowledge the past, so that we can move forward in the future.”

“Sandra, we have made it,” Velasquez added, speaking to Perez.

Robert Miklos, the current president of the LLAQC, acted as master of ceremonies during the event, and thanked Perez and Velasquez for their role in forming the bar association.

“On behalf of the organization, we are so thankful and so proud of Justice Sandra Perez,” Miklos said.

“She's someone who has been an integral part of the organization's success and its growth during my term, and I know that you will continue to be a part of our mission moving forward,” he added. “Today is one of the proudest days of our organization's history.”