[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 196 (Tuesday, November 9, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     JUDGE JAMES PEREZ POST OFFICE

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                          HON. J. LUIS CORREA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 9, 2021

  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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