Knox County Criminal Court Judge Hector Sanchez was born in Texas and lived there until he was two years old.
“At that point, my mother and biological father split up, so my mother took us back to where she grew up in Massachusetts,” said Judge Sanchez. “I lived in Massachusetts for my upbringing with a single mother, so we struggled at times. We lived in public housing, which, in hindsight, I had a lot of fun in there. A lot of people ask, ‘you grew up in public?’ Yes, I sure did. I enjoyed it.’”
Around age 14 his mother remarried, and the family moved into a house. After high school graduation in 2003, Judge Sanchez’ stepfather, who is a physicist, accepted a job in Tennessee. His parents, noticing negative influences within his peer group, invited him to relocate with them.
“I came here to Knoxville in 2003 and worked at Bill Cox Furniture and assembled furniture and went and delivered it throughout east Tennessee,” said Judge Sanchez. “That was kind of my first taste of a labor-intensive job. I ended up joining the Marine Corps from there in 2005. I served in the Marines for four years. After the Marine Corps, I went and stayed in Norfolk, Va. and went to Old Dominion and graduated there and then came back here for law school.”
Judge Sanchez’ stepfather was transferred to New York in 2011. This time, he chose not to follow his parents. Instead, Judge Sanchez interned at the Knox County DA’s office all three years of law school.
“I was fortunate enough to get a job there after graduating law school in 2014,” he said. “I started out as a drug prosecutor. I did that for four years and then got moved into what they call the major crimes division, primarily homicides and other crimes against persons. I did that and was able to get a lot of trial experience over four years.”
When a vacancy in Criminal Court Division Two arose, Judge Sanchez couldn’t pass up the opportunity to apply.
“I went through that process and made the top three,” he said. “From there, I had to travel to Governor Lee’s office on two occasions. First to meet with the legal team, then to meet with Governor Lee. I did that, waited about six weeks and got a phone call that I was being selected to fill that vacancy. I got appointed in September 2022 and it’s been just over two years now.”
As he reflects on his path to the bench, Judge Sanchez says he didn’t start out pursuing a legal career.
“To be quite honest, what I wanted to do was federal law enforcement,” said Judge Sanchez. “I needed a degree to put myself in a position to do that. When I went to undergrad, the idea was I’m either going to join the FBI or I was interested in the DEA.”
During his third year of undergrad, Judge Sanchez took a criminal law course taught by a professor who was previously a prosecutor in Chicago. That’s when his career aspirations changed.
“My parents paid for an LSAT prep course,” he said. “I thought maybe I can at least give this a shot, so I went through that and took the LSAT and applied to UT Law School. I don’t think it necessarily had anything to do with the way I grew up. Really, my plan materialized kind of quickly and I knew upon interning at the DA’s office before I started law school as a clerk, it was just confirmation to me that I want to do this.”
Although Judge Sanchez is proud to be Tennessee’s first Hispanic trial court judge, he is quick to point to his military service and legal experience. “I was very proud to have that designation, but I also felt like, perhaps, my other qualifications kind of went by the wayside,” said Judge Sanchez. “This guy’s also a Veteran. He’s also been a prosecutor for eight years and tried upwards of 50 jury trials. But it’s something that I hold near and dear. I’m proud. I’m super proud to be able to serve.”
As a veteran, Judge Sanchez also presides over the Knox County Veterans Treatment Court.
He says no matter where he is serving, he wants to help others- and credits his success to people who took the time to help him.
“I always had mentors in my life that helped me. I feel like I not only have an obligation to do that, but it brings me a lot of joy to serve as a mentor and to help folks. I do that in my community. I teach at the college of law, here in Knoxville, at UT College of Law, trial practice, adjunct professor. Anything I can do to give back to be a mentor I really try to.”
He also teaches something that’s not necessarily in the course work: never be afraid to ask for help.
“Understanding that just because you have some disadvantages, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t do the things that everyone else can do,” he said. “It just might be more challenging. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to seek guidance.”
Judge Sanchez credits his time in the Marine Corps for his perspective on the bench.
“The core values are honor, courage, and commitment,” said Judge Sanchez. “If you can live by that ethos and those core values, you’re going to do the right thing when no one’s looking and you’re going to give 100% at all times, so I believe in that and adopt that in my practice.”
As for court cases, Judge Sanchez says his upbringing enables him to empathize in certain circumstances..
“It doesn’t make me soft on crime or anything like that, but I think it is beneficial,” he said. “Also, it gives that populus, that group that ultimately you’re presiding over their cases, I think they feel a little bit better to understand that here’s somebody who’s not the typical 60–70-year-old Caucasian male whose presiding over my criminal case.”
Judge Sanchez is known as a young judge. He received Knoxville’s 40 Under 40 award in 2022.
“I have folks in place if I need to confer or if I need advice,” he said. “I’m so fortunate to have Judge Steve Sword. He’s the Division 1 criminal court judge who continues to be a tremendous mentor, as well as Judge Scott Reed in Division 3.”
Judge Sanchez says he’ll never forget what Senior Judge Don Ash told him at his first judicial conference.
“He said, ‘Well, how’s it feel to have been appointed?’ I said, well, it’s such an honor to have been appointed. He said, ‘One to thing to keep in mind is it is an honor, but you should serve to honor the position’ And that really stuck with me”
Something else Judge Sanchez is sticking with is criminal court.
“I absolutely love what I do,” he said. “I love being in jury trials, making decisions on the spot. I appreciate and respect what the appellate judges do so much and understand how important their function is, but I really enjoy the trial work. To be honest, it kind of reminds me of the military in a way because it feels like you’re in the trenches, you know, you’re in the action. Again, for me, I think at this current time, I would say for the foreseeable future I’m very content being a trial court judge.”
