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Elizabet Rodriguez brings passion for fairness to the courtroom

Kern County Superior Court judge to be inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame

By California State University, Bakersfield

February 19^th, 2025

When Elizabet Rodriguez first imagined what her law career would be like, she never thought it would take her in the direction it has.

The California State University, Bakersfield alumna knew when she was attending college that she was interested in becoming a lawyer. Obtaining her bachelor’s in criminal justice at CSUB and subsequently her juris doctorate from the Western State University College of Law in Fullerton was all part of the plan.

Rodriguez spent over 15 years as an attorney, first for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and lastly as a deputy public defender in Kern County. Then, in 2021, her career took a turn Rodriguez never expected when she was appointed to a judgeship for the Kern County Superior Court by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“I decided I wanted a career in law because I wanted to help people,” she said. “I never realized how successful of a career I would have. I never imagined being a judge because that was never one of my goals. I just had it fixed that I was going to be an attorney.”

Rodriguez is the second Latina to serve on the Kern County bench and is also the first Latina judge to speak Spanish, a position she doesn’t take lightly.

“I hope that my appointment has a positive influence in the community,” she said. “This work that I am doing now is extremely important because it gives me an opportunity to continue to serve my community as well as to potentially be a role model for some of the youth.”

In recognition of her accomplished career, Rodriguez has been selected to be inducted into CSUB’s Alumni Hall of Fame this year, along with award-winning author Donna Barba Higuera, licensed clinical psychologist Janet Barnett Pierucci and Miramar International Real Estate and Investment CEO Dan Shanyfelt.

The inductees will be honored at a ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel on Feb. 20 in Bakersfield. Tickets for the ceremony are available here.

“I never in my wildest dreams ever considered being inducted into the Hall of Fame, so the fact that CSUB has recognized the contributions that I have made to the school, to the community — it's a huge honor for me,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez isn’t letting the induction and her new position go to her head. When meeting new people outside of the courtroom, she prefers to introduce herself as Elizabet rather than as Judge Rodriguez.

“I don't want anyone to ever feel uncomfortable because they know what my job is,” she said. “First and foremost, I'm a person. The title of judge is just for my job — it’s not who I am as a person.”

Local criminal defense attorney H.A. Sala, who has known Rodriguez for over a decade, said he was excited to learn that she had been selected for the Alumni Hall of Fame and believes it is well-deserved.

“Judge Rodriguez is a very humble, very modest person, and I know that being included with this very select number of honorees means the world to her because it validates everything she's done,” he said. “I know she’s so proud to be a CSUB graduate and she values that so much.”

Rodriguez is held as a baby by her mother.

Elizabet Rodriguez brings passion for fairness to the courtroom

Rodriguez, first from left, with her parents and sister.

Humble beginnings

Rodriguez quickly learned the value of hard work growing up in the small community of Lamont. Both of her parents left their families in Mexico to immigrate to the U.S. and met while they were both working out in the fields. Rodriguez was born a few years after the couple got married.

“Working in the fields is extremely difficult, but my mom was out there pregnant with me doing it. She was working up until I was born,” she said.

Rodriguez’s younger sister was born about four years later. As children, she felt she and her sister were always taken care of. It wasn’t until she was an adult that Rodriguez realized that even with both of her parents working, they had still been living below the poverty level.

“My parents always provided for us. If we needed something, we got it, despite the fact that they were not making very much money,” she said. “We didn't grow up wanting or needing anything that we didn't have. They wanted us to reach our potential, and that's why education was so important for them. They would always tell us, ‘You’ve got to go to school so you don't end up working in the fields.’”

Rodriguez remembers when her parents took them to work in the fields to get a sense of what it was like. She knew right away that she wanted something more for herself and that it was important to stay in school.

“It was terrible. I hated it,” Rodriguez said. “It was hot, it was dirty. That was very telling for myself that ‘this is not what I want to do.’”

Rodriguez believes her parents instilled in her a lot of the values that have played a vital role in why she has had a successful career.

“They were the ones who instilled fairness and hard work in me. They taught me the value of education and humility,” she said. “Growing up, they were the perfect example of hard-working, humble people, and I desperately wanted to emulate them.”

Rodriguez stayed committed to her education through high school. She knew she wanted to go to college and either become a teacher or a lawyer. Rodriguez began attending CSUB full-time and threw herself into her criminal justice coursework during her second year.

“I was in a rush to hurry up and get through college and become a lawyer,” she said. “If I could do something different, it would be to go back and take my time and truly enjoy my college years.”

Rodriguez said she loved a lot of her criminal justice courses and that they helped prepare her for a future career in law. She remembers a class she took about the court system that was taught by a judge. One time, the judge assigned students to attend a jury trial so they could get a real-life sense of how the system works.

“That was my first exposure to a courtroom and to what I would eventually be doing as my career,” Rodriguez said. “My experience at CSUB was great. The classes I took were very eye-opening and actually played a big part in my career, both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney.”

'A very unique insight'

Rodriguez’s first professional experience in the law field happened while she was still attending CSUB. She began working as a part-time legal secretary for criminal defense attorney David A. Torres. That eventually transitioned into a full-time role, which she juggled in addition to being a full-time student.

“I was able to see firsthand just how much of an assistance and how much guidance an attorney could provide for people, many of whom are in very desperate and vulnerable situations,” she said.

Torres said Rodriguez quickly proved herself at his firm, Torres | Torres Stallings. She helped the firm stay updated with computers and office management systems. When a full-time position opened up, Torres decided to give her the opportunity.

“That was one of the best decisions that we ever made,” he said. “She kind of got her feet wet here in the legal world. She made an impact on my office because things were evolving at the time, technologically speaking. She was young, she was smart, she was keeping up with the technology the way it was, and because of that, she was able to put us into the 21st Century.”

Rodriguez officially started her legal career in 2006 at the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, where she was a deputy district attorney. While she was primarily interested in becoming a criminal defense lawyer, Rodriguez thought it would be a good opportunity to learn more about how prosecutions work.

“I thought that starting my career on the other side as a prosecutor would help me get an inside perspective on how a prosecutor analyzed a case, how they prepared, what things they looked for,” she said. “The knowledge and the experience that I gained as a prosecutor was extremely helpful to me as a criminal defense attorney, and I strongly believe that is why I was very successful in a lot of my cases.”

After three years, Rodriguez left the position to work in private practice as an associate at Gonzalez Law Group. She was then hired in 2013 as a Kern County deputy public defender.

“I was able to apply a lot of the knowledge and insight that I gained as a prosecutor into my criminal defense practice, and that was extremely helpful to me,” Rodriguez said. “I gained a very unique insight into our criminal justice system because I had to learn both roles, and not many people have that experience.”

Sala, who worked with Rodriguez as a criminal defense attorney, was impressed by how hard she worked to make sure her clients’ rights were protected and that they had every opportunity to make their case.

“She would work tirelessly to research and investigate every angle of a case so that her client would have his or her legal story told in a courtroom,” he said. “We often spoke about strategies on motions that she would bring before the court. She wouldn't accept a ruling that was either contrary to law or unfair. She was one of the few lawyers that would file a writ or an appeal. She wouldn't just take no for an answer if she felt it was an erroneous ruling.”

When Rodriguez was appointed to the judgeship in 2021, she was determined not to let it change how she approached people, both in and out of the courtroom.

“It doesn't matter what your position is. You could be the judge, a juror. You could be the cleaning person — you're all valuable,” she said. “A lot of people think that ‘oh, you're the judge, so you’re more important,’ and that's not true. Something that I pride myself on is treating everybody exactly the same. I don't deserve special treatment because of my position. I try to make sure that I treat everyone the same. Everybody deserves to be treated with respect at all times.”

Those values have been demonstrated in how Rodriguez has approached her rulings, according to Sala.

“She is a welcome addition to the bench because she is exceptionally fair, exceptionally objective, and she treats everyone that appears before her with respect, which are the landmarks of a superb judicial officer,” he said. “It just presents an aura of fairness in the courtroom. To have all those attributes come together is remarkable and a very significant contribution to the justice system in our county. Our county is very fortunate to have a bench officer of that caliber.”

As going into a courtroom can feel intimidating and cause immediate apprehension for a defendant, Sala said it’s important to have a judge who projects a calming demeanor and is willing to listen.

“When you go into her courtroom, you are going to be heard. You're going to have your day in court,” he said. “She's not going to cut you off. She’s not going to demean you. She's not going to make you feel that you're unimportant. Even though you may not like the ultimate outcome, you’re going to feel that you were given a fair shake. You can't expect anything more from a judge.”

'She's now planted so many seeds'

Given the historic nature of her appointment, Rodriguez aims to set a good example for other women, especially Latinas such as herself. She will often take advantage of opportunities to provide advice and serve as a mentor.

Sala recalls one time when he met a family of farmworkers who had a daughter in high school who was interested in a law career. After she expressed doubt about being able to become a lawyer, Sala organized a visit with Rodriguez at the Bakersfield courthouse.

“She put on her robe, took this girl back into her chambers, and this girl was just looking and admiring the chambers,” he said. “Judge Rodriguez opened up to her, told her her story and that she also came from farmworker parents. She really encouraged this young Latina that she could also become a lawyer. The young girl afterwards thanked her, and when she came out, she said, ‘Mom, I wasn't sure if I could be a lawyer, but now I do want to be a lawyer.’”

Sala ran into the girl’s mother earlier this year, who told him that her daughter was now a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley and plans to go to law school.

“(Judge Rodriguez) had a life-changing impact on this young Latina by taking 15 minutes out of her time and encouraging her to go to school and become a lawyer,” he said. “You don’t see many people doing that, and that just shows the heart that she has, along with all the other remarkable attributes of a judge.”

Giving back to students and the community has been a major priority for Rodriguez throughout her career. She has participated in Law Day events at the Valley Plaza Mall and in expungement clinics hosted by Bakersfield College and CSUB, which help residents clear their criminal records.

“It shows that a judge like her is not only a person who can provide a sentence, but they are also giving them the chance to take a new step, a new path in life and do something positive for society and for their families,” Torres said.

Rodriguez can also be seen out in the community volunteering for organizations such as Children Joining Children for Success, which supports children in the foster care system. She also regularly volunteers at her church, Valley Bible Fellowship, by helping distribute food, clothes and other essentials to people facing homelessness.

Rodriguez has stayed connected to CSUB through her involvement with the Pre-Law Program. She has participated in speed-mentoring and networking events and visited classes as a guest speaker.

“The message that I have for current and future `Runners who wish to pursue a career in law is this: If you want to become an attorney, it will happen. It will be hard and it will be stressful, but it will be very much worth it,” she said. “In the meantime, enjoy your college years. Take your time. I assure you that when you pass the bar, there will be plenty of cases to go around for you.”

Sala believes Rodriguez has already had a significant impact on CSUB students and has seen an increasing number of Latinas entering the field who were part of the program.

“They very much now want to become lawyers, and they are now mentees or law clerks for a number of lawyers in this town,” he said. “There are many Latinas right now in that situation, and I believe it’s attributed in large part to her guidance.”

Torres agreed about Rodriguez’s impact, saying that working with these students has “planted the seed. She's now planted so many seeds there and those roots have spread all over Kern County. That's why she’s in the Hall of Fame — because she has already left a legacy of individuals who can now say ‘it's because of her that that I am where I am,’ but most importantly, ‘I am who I am because of her.’”

Rodriguez ultimately wants students to understand that they can achieve their goals regardless of their background and that they shouldn’t let self-doubt or the doubts of others prevent them from pursuing the career and life they want.

“I want everyone to know that just because you're a first-generation student, just because it's English is not your first language, just because your parents were migrant workers and you lived below the poverty level — those are not reasons to stop. Don't ever let anyone define success for yourself,” she said.