This is the fifty-seventh Court Times article highlighting a member of the Indiana Judiciary
Judge Jose Salinas was elected to the Marion County Superior Court in 2007. He graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American (now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), located in south Texas along the Texas/Mexico border in 1989. He received his law degree from I.U. McKinney in 1997. Judge Salinas was a probation officer for four years in Illinois and experienced court on a daily basis.
What was your childhood like?
I grew up in an area of south Texas where the population was over 90% Hispanic and was raised by my grandparents. We were not well off; in fact, we were migrant workers during my childhood, coming to central Illinois to work in the summers (and for one summer in California). Over time, some of my extended family stayed in Illinois, and that is where I went once I finished school. Nothing will motivate you more to complete school and do your best to make it than being a young teenager working alongside your grandmother detasseling corn.
What’s your favorite meal, place to eat, or recipe?
I enjoy spaghetti. It’s a meal that my two kids and I make and eat together.
Judge Jose Salinas as an infant 
Judge Jose Salinas 
Judge Salinas enjoys a Colts game with their two children
Do you have a favorite hobby?
I hate to admit it, but my hobby is watching TV and shows that have nothing to do with the type of work that I do. Getting one’s brain away from the daily grind is important so you get a chance to relax and focus again for the next day.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job, and what brings you joy?
The most challenging aspect of my job is seeing the same people come to court time after and time for drug-related charges. We can only do so much as judges; we can’t be with them 24 hours a day. Poor choices are sometimes made that result in criminal charges being filed. Seeing the destruction that drugs and drug addiction can bring is the worst part of my job.
The biggest joys are the problem-solving court graduations that I get to witness with those in my drug treatment and re-entry courts. Seeing individuals overcome hurdles and self-doubt and succeed in life is a wonderful thing. Those programs impact people’s lives in a positive way, and that’s good for all of us.
What are you looking forward to in the next year or two?
I am looking forward to moving into our new Criminal Justice Complex and seeing how the courts operate in the new building.
What career would you choose if you weren’t already in this field?
I think I would like to be a teacher or in social work.
Do you have any advice for your colleagues?
Enjoy life and make sure you try to leave work at the office once your day is done or else it will eat at you. That’s where the unhealthiness can start.