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Posted by r0rt1z Mon Nov 21, 2005 09:37:19 PST
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0 responses 0 comments      Robert Tafoya was appointed as a judge to the Kern County Superior Court in October 2002.

     Before becoming a judge, Tafoya ran his own family law firm in downtown Bakersfield.    

  The Oxnard native moved to Bakersfield in 1978.  For 25 years, he has been married to Sandra Serrano, Kern Community College District chancellor and former Bakersfield College president.  They have have two grown children: Cristina Pilar, a licensed masseuse majoring in kinesiology at Cal State Bakersfield, and Galen, a Los Angeles freelance television producer.

     Tafoya is currently a board member of the R.M. Pyles Boys Camp and serves on the Youth Development Coalition committee and Kern Community Foundation.

     He’s also a founding member of OLA RAZA (Organization for the Legal Advancement of Raza, Inc.), which provides legal information and services to immigrants and low-income Latinos.

     In addition to work and community activities, Tafoya teaches a class on the duties of a judge at Bakersfield College.

    What is it about Tafoya that has driven him to excel at work, in the community and en la casa?

    Here’s what he had to say to Más:

Q. Tell us more about your background

A. “I come from a family of 11 children. I am No. 4. My maternal abuelos came from Chihuahua (abuela) and Monterrey (abuelo). My paternal abuelos come from Arizona (abuelo) and Chihuahua, too (abuela). I am a third-generation Mexican-American. As a child, I worked in the fields with my parents, Fred Tafoya and Carolina Ordoñez.  By age 18, I supervised my own ‘cuadrillas’ (crews). My parents always encouraged me to go to school. And I knew that (working in the fields) wasn’t the type of life I wanted.”

Q. How did you decide to become a lawyer?

A. “It was kind of accidental. I never planned it. A friend of mine invited me to participate in a law program in San Francisco, and I said, ‘Well, if I don’t have to pay for it, I’ll do it.’ But then, I realized I always had an interest in helping my community, and this career has allowed me to do just that.”

Q. What is a typical day for you at the courthouse? What kind of cases do you hear?

A. “On most days, I preside over jury criminal trials. At times, I will hear the law and motion calendar, where I decide issues involving the admissibility or exclusion of evidence in pending criminal trials. When not in court, I am reading the law to stay current on recent changes. Or I am researching and writing decisions on matters I have taken under submission.”

Q. Being a judge must put you under some scrutiny. How do you handle that?

A. “Yes, there are people who might think I make good decisions. But then, there are also people who think I don’t know what I’m doing. They wonder where I went to law school, etc. But I can’t let that stop me. I just have to let things go, just forget about it. I just follow the law.”

Q. What are your retirement plans?

A. “I don’t have any. I have never planned anything in my life. I just live life one day at a time.”

Q. What are some of your hobbies?

“My hobbies include reading, watching baseball games.... When I was young, I used to play in a band called Los Sembradores, where I played the guitar and sang. We used to play at local functions, but I don’t have time for that anymore. Another thing I also enjoy doing is riding my Harley Davidson. I’ve gone across the nation and to Mexico in that motorcycle. Sandra goes with me, riding in the back.”

Q. How did you become so successful?

A. “Well, I don’t think I’m any type of special person. Anyone can get anywhere they want. What I like to tell the youth is that whatever they want to do, they can do it. They just have to work hard. There’s no way around it.”

Q. How did you meet your wife?

A. “I met Sandra in San  Francisco at Hastings  College of the Law in 1978, where we both attended.”

Q. What is the biggest challenge facing young Latinos today?

A.  “The biggest challenge facing all youth in America, which includes Latinos, is to take full advantage of the myriad of opportunities that are available to them in developing their full potential. This will require setting meaningful goals, deferring gratification, working hard and embracing quality in everything they do. As Latinos, our youth should nurture their genius by living out the values we espouse, namely to care for our families, serve our communities, maintain a close relationship with God and live life fully in the moment.”

Q. Who is your role model?

A. “My role models are my parents, Fred Martinez Tafoya and Carolina Ordoñez Tafoya.”

ROSARIO ORTIZ

Más staff

Contact Rosario Ortíz at

rortiz@masbakersfield.com

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