Veteran jurist and public servant brings two decades of Virgin Islands trial, appellate, and court administration experience
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — Governor Albert Bryan Jr. today nominated Magistrate Judge Venetia Harvey Velazquez to serve as a judge of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands for the St. Croix District.
“Judge Velazquez has served our justice system from nearly every seat in the courtroom,” Governor Bryan said. “She has tried cases, protected constitutional rights on appeal, managed court operations, advised law enforcement and led complex civil litigation. That record shows fairness, discipline and respect for the rule of law. I look forward to a careful review and a favorable vote by the 36th Legislature.”
Judge Velazquez began her career in 2000 as a law clerk to Judge Maria M. Cabret at the then Territorial Court. From 2002 to 2007 she was a staff attorney for the Appellate Division of the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands. From 2007 to 2013 she served as Clerk of the Courts for the Superior Court and the Supreme Court.
In 2014 and 2015 she was an appellate public defender. In 2015 and 2016 she served as deputy general counsel in the Office of the Governor. From 2016 to 2024 she was an assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, prosecuting cases in the Criminal Division and representing the government in the Civil Division, where she served as acting Civil Division chief from April 2023 through October 2024 and was instrumental in the settlement cases against the Jeffrey Epstein Estate.
Since November 2024 she has served as a magistrate judge, presiding over criminal bench trials and civil matters, issuing warrants and mediating civil and family cases.
She earned a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law, magna cum laude, ranking fifth in a class of about 130, and served on the Howard Law Journal with multiple achievement awards in legal research and writing, advanced legal research, remedies, corporations, sales and secured transactions, and recognition for appellate advocacy.
She holds a Master of Arts in education administration and leadership from the University of the Virgin Islands, summa cum laude, and a Bachelor of Arts from Howard University, magna cum laude, in human communication studies and political science. Her training includes general jurisdiction for trial judges at the National Judicial College and a 2025 judicial academy for aspiring judges. She is a certified court manager and a certified mediator and arbitrator since 2012, including Florida Supreme Court certification in appellate and family mediation.
Judge Velazquez is admitted before the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands, with pro hac vice appearances in the Southern District of New York and special appearances in the District of Columbia.
The Governor will transmit the nomination to the 36th Legislature for its advice and consent.
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