Webb County Court-at-Law II Judge Victor Villarreal, appointed last April by the Webb County Commissioners Court to fill the vacancy left by Judge Jesus (Chuy) Garza — who was indicted for influence peddling — is running for the position in the March 6, 2018 primary election.
Villarreal said he has reformed the Court and restored the public’s trust and confidence in County Court-at-Law II, which hears criminal, civil, family, probate, mental health, and juvenile law cases. He said he has brought his “full attention” to the position, and that his 10 years in private practice under the jurisdiction of Webb County Court-at-Law II have prepared him well in every area of the law.
He will face former Associate Judge Melissa Joy García in the race.
Villarreal said that the efficiency he has established in County-Court at-Law II over the last nine months has created a visible turn-around in a court that was in disarray, bloated with un-necessary positions, and a backlog of 6,207 open cases, some more than 20-years-old.
Villarreal said he has reduced the old case docket by 58 percent, and reduced the number of employees. Those measures and an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday, he said, represent a savings to taxpayers of $235,000 during the current fiscal year.
“We have restored public confidence in a court that no longer had the trust of those who came before it. As an attorney in private practice, I saw what didn’t work in this court. I knew how attorneys and their clients should be treated, and now I have been able to do something about it,” Villarreal said, adding, “Those who want to see the accessibility of the judicial system should visit County Court-at-Law II. Nothing transpires behind closed doors. There is order, respect, fairness, and patience for those seeking their day in court. Lawyers are frequently measured by how quickly
they get relief and action for their clients. They can depend on settings and resolutions that are quicker. Everyone is treated the same, whether represented by an attorney or per se. I have the temperament to listen to evidence and to be fair. I enjoy this form of public service.”
He said the transformation of County Court at Law II from the state’s worst audited court to being considered as a Court of Excellence by the Office of Court Administration has allowed greater protection to those under guardianship.
Villarreal attributes his work ethic and a sense of fairness to his mother, San Juanita Villarreal, a lifetime educator, and to Esteban Villarreal and Salvador Ayala, his paternal and maternal grandfathers, respectively.
“My father died when I was 12, and my mother, my sole provider, set the value of an education, hard work, and faith. She was steadfast, firm, optimistic. My grandfather, Esteban Villarreal, who was a groundskeeper at the Webb County Courthouse, was a hard-working man who cherished family and had the gift to make things grow. We all benefited from his belief in how far an education could take you,” he said. “My grandfather Ayala worked hard to provide for his family and instilled the value of an education in my mother, who then passed it on to me. He shined shoes and sold magazines downtown to provide for his family,” he continued, adding that faith and reading were a large part of his childhood.
“I enjoy the scholarship of reading case law,” Villarreal said.
He graduated from Laredo Christian Academy when he was 16 and from TAMIU at 20 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a minor in sociology. He graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. While at UT, he was president of the Hispanic Law Student Association, the largest Hispanic law organization in the United States.
He has served as president of the Laredo-Webb County Bar Association and vice-president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association.
He was in private practice for 10 years prior to his appointment to County Court at Law II — two years as an associate attorney and eight years owning his own firm with partner Eduardo Romero.
Villarreal and his wife Lorena Martinez-Villarreal have two daughters, Sofia and Andrea.
