Judge Salvador Vasquez honored for 20 years of service to Lake County criminal courts

SCHERERVILLE — As a strong, firm yet altruistic presence in his courtroom, Lake County Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez has been held in high regard during his 20-year tenure as a judge, according to many of his colleagues. 

However, during a ceremony to honor his contribution to the county’s criminal justice system Thursday hosted by the Rudy Lozano Bar Association and emceed by Attorney Roy Dominguez, Vasquez jokingly said he didn’t think anyone would show up to the event.

“When I was approached by the Lozano bar (about this event), I said no. I told Roy, ‘No one is going to show up. I’m so mean,'” he said with a smile. 

The approximately 100 relatives, friends and colleagues who showed up to the event at the Andorra Banquet Hall demonstrated quite the opposite. The night included speeches by many of Vasquez’s colleagues and friends, including Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, former Judge Richard Maroc and Rudy Lozano Bar Association President Attorney Jose Vega.

“Judge Vasquez is a tough judge,” Vega said. “If you can make it in his courtroom, you can make it anywhere.”

Vega said he admires Vasquez’s attention to detail and maintenance of remarkable decorum in his court. He recalled his first appearance before Vasquez in 2011 where Vasquez looked over a plea agreement he had filed. Vasquez asked him if he had thoroughly looked through the plea.

“He said, ‘Did you look at this plea?'” Vega said. “‘There is a misplaced comma in paragraph six.'”

Many friends and colleagues showed their appreciation for his purportedly unyielding demeanor in court and praised his diligence and commitment to rehabilitating many of his defendants, specifically through implementation of Lake County Transition Court, the county’s first court that assists people exiting incarceration. Vasquez helped pioneered this initiative in 2011 with Magistrate Judge Kathleen Sullivan, Lake Criminal Court Judge Natalie Bokota and Executive Director Kellie Bittorf of the Lake County Community Corrections program. 

Bokota works closely with Vasquez in the transition courts and felony criminal courts. The two have known each other since they attended law school at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and she said she has always admired his penchant for hard work and optimism. 

“He is extremely hard working,” Bokota said. “He is an optimist and genuinely believes things will turn out right in the end. And he brings that attitude into his work.”

Vasquez is a lifelong Lake County resident. His parents were born in Jalisco, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States in the 1950s, according to a biography distributed at the event. After graduating from law school he worked as a deputy prosecutor in Lake County before moving into private practice. He applied to be a judge in 1999 and was appointed by then-Gov. Frank O’Bannon in 2003. He is the senior judge for the criminal division. 

Carter, the keynote speaker for the event, cited the importance of bringing life experiences to the bench. He praised Vasquez’s ability to exercise fair and impartial judgment to all parties involved in a case and said how he admired Vasquez’s experiences in both legal pursuits and his personal and cultural background that combined to make him a true “advocate for the people,” Carter said.

“As prosecutors and defense attorneys, all we want is a fair hearing and an opportunity to represent our client before the court,” Carter said. “Judge Vasquez, you have given us just that.”

During a speech before the attendees, Vasquez reminisced on his time as an attorney in the courtrooms of other felony court judges who served as examples of how he would ultimately approach his job in the judiciary. 

“I knew I had to be prepared,” Vasquez said. “I knew everything I did as a prosecutor would come to play here.”

As Vasquez concluded his speech, he shared some of his adages he said he tells defendants and incarcerated people who participate in his transition courts. He emphasized the importance of surrounding oneself with good people, remaining positive in the face of adversity and being resilient. 

“I tell people in our transition court, ‘I don’t care about your past as much as I care about your future,'” Vasquez said. “You fall down? Get back up. Hit a bump? Move around it, go over it, whatever the case may be. The worse thing you can do is stop moving.”