Humble Beginnings

4

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

by Raquel Miranda Vega and Hon. Ralph Wm. Wyatt

JUDGE LOUIE L. Vega did not get to where he is mother only fi nished fi fth grade and then had to work today easily. Louie has been a transformative in the fi elds to support the family. Louie embarked force in his various career fi elds and community upon a brief teaching career with the Kern High through his accomplishments as a television news School District teaching at Shafter High School, East reporter, a CSUB student working full-time, a High School, and South High School. Along with credentialed teacher, lawyer, Kern County Superiour teaching, he started soccer teams at both Shafter Court Commissioner and now retired Judge. High School and South High school.

Louie Vega was the eldest son of a farmworker family living in rural poverty. In the 1950’s his family would move from rural California to the Greater Los Angeles area where Louie would fi nish high school. Upon high school graduation, Louie enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in 1968. He was trained to be a helicopter mechanic - door gunner and while in the combat zone (shot down twice), promoted to helicopter crew chief. After coming home, Louie, now a combat Veteran, was awarded a Purple Heart and various combat ribbons for his time serving the military.

In the early 1970s Louie followed a job lead to Bakersfi eld and became the fi rst Latino television broadcaster in Kern County. He broke the color barrier in the local broadcasting profession as observed by a Bakersfi eld Californian newspaper article: “Louie Vega heard about a reporter opening at KERO, and gave it a shot... Kern County had its fi rst brown face on local television news.” Louie would ultimately work at KERO from 1971 to 1977. At the height of intense farm labor strife, which pitted the farm workers and the Farm Workers’ Union against the farmers, this was a pivotal moment for the Kern County media community impacting the local journalism fi eld in Bakersfi eld, forever changing the way local newsrooms would look like and the faces broadcasting. If it were not for Louie, his daughter’s opportunity as a young Latina woman working in journalism in Kern County would have looked a lot different. Today she sees faces that look like her own and the Latino culture does not go unrecognized in this community.

While working at KERO, Louie enrolled at CSUB and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree and teaching credential, becoming the fi rst in his family to pursue higher education. He came from a family where his

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In 1980, Louie deviated from his career path as a teacher and earned his law degree from UCLA Law. Following graduation he remained in Los Angeles working for a prominent law fi rm specializing in re-development law.

Louie returned to Bakersfi eld and worked as a Kern County Deputy Public Defender and, thereafter, joined the law fi rm of Young Wooldridge practicing civil litigation. While at Young Wooldridge, Louie took on a pro-bono client “The Friends of Heritage Park.” “The Friends of Heritage Park,” was a citizen-based organization seeking to preserve Heritage Park by opposing the location of Kern County’s Juvenile Justice Center on fi ve acres of the park space. During the litigation, the County agreed to move the location of the Juvenile Justice Center down the street south of the park boundaries. In an ironic twist of fate, the now, down the street courthouse, is where Judge Vega would decades later preside as a Supervising Juvenile Court Judge. Through Louie’s pro-bono efforts as a young attorney, the entirety of Heritage Park was preserved and remains open for families to enjoy.

In 1990, Louie Vega was selected to become a Court Commissioner, where he served from 1990 to 2008. As a capstone of his legal career, Court Commissioner Louie Vega was appointed to a Judgeship in 2008 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

During his career, Judge Vega was at the forefront of starting Family Reunifi cation Day in 2013 at the Juvenile Justice Center in conjunction with the Department of Human Services. This celebration was created to recognize the time and dedication parents separated from their children took to reunify with their children. As a Judge for the Juvenile

Justice Center for 12 years, Judge Vega worked with dozens of families to make sure the parents’ diffi cult, but successful journeys, did not go unrecognized, honoring the true testament of parenthood. This day serves as a reward and honor for the judicial offi cers, case workers, families and the community. Family Reunifi cation day has continued every year since 2013 and will continue to touch the lives of families forever in Kern County.

Judge Vega was involved in a variety of community outreach programs. He was one of the few remaining combat Veteran judges in Kern County. As a Judge he participated in the annual Veteran’s Stand Down program and presided over its collaborative Veterans Court. For over a decade, Judge Vega also participated in another community outreach program and collaborative court known as the Homeless Court. For over 10 years Judge Vega dedicated his time to being a part of the local CASA chapter, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. He has sworn in dozens of new CASA members viewed as fi t to help change the lives of children in foster care. was the Editor and Chief of the La Raza Law Journal. The honor is focused on “promoting the integrity, recognition, leadership, and advancement of our communities. Judge Vega also received the Kern County Bar Association’s Bench and Bar Award in April 2018 and has also received recognition from the State Assembly and Congress for his time dedicated to the community. Most recently, Judge Vega was inducted into the CSUB Hall of Fame in 2020, which recognizes alumni who’ve distinguished themselves in their career, volunteered their time, talent and/or money to benefi t their community and brought honor to their alma mater.

Judge Vega’s journey was not laid out for him nor did not come without challenges. He is known for treating every person who walked into his courtroom or chambers with dignity and respect, as witnessed by his colleagues and peers. He continuously serves as a reminder that it does not matter where you came from or how you were raised, you can work hard to become the person you want to be.