by Margine Quintanilla
Gerardo Sandoval poses with members of the Latino community in the Mission District. (photos by Marvin J. Ramirez)
The panic of being judged in a courtroom leads many Latinos to allow abuses and get blackmailed by others. In addition to not understanding the judicial system, many faced judges who do not understand their culture or speak Spanish.
“We, Latinos are underrepresented in the judicial system,” is the slogan the candidate for judge in the Superior Court of San Francisco better explains this situation.
Sandoval said that 30 percent of the judges are currently Republican, while others come from powerful legal firms. Only 2 percent are Hispanic, and many others do not even live in San Francisco,” he said.
Sandoval, who is finishing his second term as San Francisco Supervisor, enjoys the respect and admiration of diverse leaders in the Latino community, who recognize in him a talent that qualifies him as the best candidate to fill the judge’s vacancy.
The parents of Sandoval, native to a small city of Mexico, immigrated to the United States 58 years ago, forming a humble home where Gerardo was the minor of the family.
Sandoval stood out as a model student obtaining his lawyer’s degree at the University of Columbia, New York, institution that has formed six judges from the United States Supreme Court and two presidents.
His passion for justice was cultivated in the heart of Sandoval since very early age.
“My father was a gardener and my mother was a seamstress. They taught me to work hard at the service of the community,” he states in his biography. During the past years he has excelled as a Supervisor in San Francisco, which he is leaving due to term limits.
In 2002, he married Mrs. Amy Harrington, with whom he had two girls, Natalie and Julia.
When they ask Sandoval why he wants to be a judge, he smiles and explains: “First because I take passion in justice.
But I have three motives that make this desire more important, to fulfill my commitment to the public service, to improve our courts, and to clarify that we need courts that prioritize a commitment to public service before political interests and economical interest of the powerful.”
Plan of work: In his plan of work, he proposes to change the courts.
“As judge, I will be firm in the punishment of those who are violent, especially those who use firearms. But as a leader, I promise to think about methods that should allow a real rehabilitation for those deprived of freedom.
He also hopes to become more accessible and easy to understand, “make Civil Courts accessible”, to the average citizen. “I will limit delays and expenses to small litigants.”
Only two of 67 judges and commissioners are Hispanic in a city where Latinos form an important part of the population.
“This is not only a loss to democracy. This is also a loss of confidence to those SanFranciscans who use the courts.”
