Judge Freixes says of the United States, “I have tremendous love for this country, which opened its arms to me and my family. It is truly a land of opportunity.”
Freixes has made many opportunities for herself in her decades-long career as a lawyer and now as an appointed judge. After graduating from Loyola Law School, she practiced for 24 years as a defense attorney for medical malpractice cases, which allowed her to combine her love for both law and medicine. Eventually, she realized that she wanted to do more for her clients than win monetary rewards; she wanted to make an impact on people’s lives.
Freixes became a Superior Court Commissioner at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, the main civil courthouse downtown. She also served as a commissioner in both the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys before being appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger two and a half years ago as a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Since January 2, 2009, she has been the presiding judge of the Santa Clarita Superior Court. She expertly balances the cases of the four departments at the Santa Clarita Courthouse, three of which are criminal courts and one of which, Department 1, is her exclusive domain.
It is obvious when watching the goings-on at the small courthouse that everyone gets along. Taking a quick break between cases in her chambers, Judge Freixes is approached by her clerk, a district attorney and a commissioner and handles each of their questions decisively. She uses a similar approach in her courtroom, exhibiting grace under pressure and treating each case, and each defendant, as individuals.
“I run a formal court,” she says of Department 1, where she can hear dozens of cases in a single day. “But I try to personalize it. I always say ‘good morning’ and call each defendant by name. It is depersonalizing enough to be in custody. When I call them Mr. or Ms., they appreciate it.”
Judge Freixes enjoys her interactions with those who appear before her and also enjoys her involvement with the community. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital and assists the SCV Bar Association by presiding over a mock trial that she wrote involving 40 high school students. Robert Mansour, an estate planning attorney and president of the SCV Bar Association, calls Freixes “a tremendous supporter” of the non-profit’s community outreach efforts. She also participates in the “Every 15 Minutes” program, believing that reaching out to kids before they get into trouble can make an impact. When students come to visit her courtroom, she is happy to hand over her black robe for them to don in order to get a true feeling of what it’s like to be a judge.
When Judge Freixes isn’t wearing her robe or letting an aspiring judge borrow it, she finds time for one of her passions: travel. As the dean of an MBA program, her husband has opportunities to work abroad, and she often joins him. “I was on four different continents in the same year,” she says, mentioning her travels to Dubai, Paris, Prague, Argentina, Chile, and China.
But upon her return to Santa Clarita, she returns to the bench, saying of her life’s work, “I am never bored. It’s a constant learning experience.”