---
title: "Vanessa Vélez | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/vanessa-v-lez-ma"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Vanessa Vélez

Massachusetts Boston Municipal Court · Justice

## Profile

- Court: Massachusetts Boston Municipal Court
- State: Massachusetts
- Role: Justice
- Service status: active

## Summary

Vanessa Vélez — Massachusetts Boston Municipal Court

## Sources

- [Boston Municipal Court Justices](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/boston-municipal-court-justices)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Governor Maura Healey nominated Vanessa Vélez in March 2024 alongside Rebeca G. Figueroa and Steven S. Kim as Associate Justices of the Boston Municipal Court
- Vélez set bail at $200 and ordered the defendant to remain away from the prosecutor and the court except for official business

### Education


### Additional information

- In November 2024, she presided over a case in West Roxbury Municipal Court where a woman was charged with threatening a prosecutor
- She has 18 years of legal service as a public defender for CPCS and as a private bar attorney.
- Her responsibilities include managing units such as Criminal Trial Support, Appeals & Post-Conviction, Parole Advocacy, Immigration Impact, and Social Services Advocacy
- Vélez has also held the role of Attorney-in-Charge and Supervising Attorney for the CPCS Boston Trial Office, and was a faculty member in Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop
- She has participated in commissions focused on improving court access, equity, and public trust, and is a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Steering Committee on Bar Admissions
- Vélez is the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Private Counsel Division for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), where she oversees legal services for about 80% of indigent clients in Massachusetts.
- Vanessa Vélez is a seasoned legal professional with deep experience in public defense, advocacy, and judicial leadership.



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19: Electronic access to the courts](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-20acbd9da185f40e1f10b2b2) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.mass.gov/supreme-judicial-court-rules/supreme-judicial-court-rule-119-electronic-access-to-the-courts). Collected 2026-07-26.