Judge James Perez Post Office
Floor Speech
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Mr. CORREA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor and memory of the Honorable Judge James Ortega Perez who was from Santa Ana, California in my district. He was the first Latino judge appointed in Orange County.
As a child, in July of 1932, his family moved to Santa Ana, California where his father pursued new employment opportunities after working as a blacksmith in the copper mines. Judge Perez attended Santa Ana High School and was working in the tomato fields in Southern California when he was drafted. He proudly served in the U.S. Army Air Corp from 1944 to 1946 as a Technical Sergeant.
Upon returning home from WWII, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1951. In 1955, he earned a J.D. at University of Southern California's Gould School of Law. Judge James Perez achieved many firsts for the Latino community and his honorary work in the legal field paved the way for Latino representation in Orange County. After passing the bar exam, he was the first Latino attorney in Orange County.
In December 1966, Governor Pat Brown appointed him to be a judge of the Orange County Municipal Court. Nine years later, in December of 1975, Governor Jerry Brown elevated him to the Orange County Superior Court. He held his title as Superior Court judge for 11 years and retired in 1987. In 1994, he was asked to come back to fill in on a part-time basis.
Afterwards, he went on to become the first Latino judge to serve on the Orange County Municipal Court and the first Latino judge to serve on the Orange County Superior Court. Two of his sons, Honorable Judge Michael Perez and Honorable Judge Joe T. Perez, are current Orange County Superior Court judges.
Therefore, to honor his service to our nation, I am introducing legislation to name the facility of the United States Postal Service located on 615 North Bush Street in Santa Ana, California as the Judge James Perez Post Office.
I hope my colleagues will join me in honoring the memory of Judge James Perez by supporting my legislation to name a Post Office facility in Santa Ana, California so that his devotion to his country and the legal community may be remembered.
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