In a unanimous decision in early October by the Mesa City Council, ASU alumna Valerye Boyer-Wells became the newest judge appointed to the Mesa Municipal Court.
Boyer-Wells will become the city’s newest magistrate at an investiture ceremony Nov. 26 at the Mesa Municipal Courthouse; retired Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Cecil Patterson will administer the oath of office.
The appointment comes 22 years to the month since Boyer-Wells was sworn in by the Arizona Supreme Court to practice law. At the October 1986 ceremony, she was the only Africa-American admitted to practice law.
Boyer-Wells said she's seeing more diversity in all aspects of law and the court system since then.
"We're getting more diversity in the classroom, and [more diversity] in lawyers, and it trickles down into more judicial position [appointments]," she said.
A high school law briefing class spurred Boyer-Wells' decision to choose a legal career. She moved to Phoenix from Albuquerque in 1977 to begin her undergraduate studies at ASU, earning a degree in criminal justice.
She attended ASU on a track and field scholarship earning All-American titles. She's a world-class athlete in track and field and an inductee at the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1985, she received her Juris Doctor from ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
Law school was challenging, but Boyer-Wells said it prepared her for her current position.
"I will bring wisdom, consistency, sound judgment, fairness and integrity," she said.
Mesa Presiding City Magistrate Matt Tafoya said Boyer-Wells' experience will serve her and the city court well.
"Her incredible history and experience and understanding [of] people … will make her an incredible judge in the courtroom where she'll be dealing with a multitude of people [and] issues," Tafoya said.
Her career has taken her to various positions in the legal profession, including her own practice.
In all her years of practice, Boyer-Wells said she "has the best job in the world."
In 2003 Boyer-Wells founded the alternative dispute resolution corporation On One Accord. The corporation dealt with settlement conferences and mediation. Her experience with that type of work has better equipped her to be a judge, she said.
"My experience did help me get this appointment ... it's the ability to make people feel comfortable so business can be taken care of," she said. "It prepared me to learn both sides and [to] help both sides reach an agreement."
Before starting On One Accord, Boyer-Wells stopped actively practicing law to raise her children. She and her husband of 27 years, Rodger Wells, have four children.
Her career began at the Governor's Office of Affirmative Action, where she was appointed by then-Gov. Bruce Babbitt to the position of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission liaison in 1985, a position she held for about a year. In 1987, she left the Governor's Office to work as a Maricopa County deputy attorney for two years.
Her judicial appointment by the City Council on Oct. 6 is also somewhat of a homecoming.
After Boyer-Wells left the county attorney's office, she spent four years at the Mesa City Prosecutor's Office as assistant city prosecutor starting in 1989.
After her stint in Mesa, she was an in-house counsel for seven years at State Farm.
Since 1996, she has been a Maricopa County Superior Judge pro tempore.
Boyer-Wells called her appointment a dream job that she hopes will lead into her retirement years.
"It was one of the biggest blessings I've ever received," she said.
Reach the reporter at cameron.luesang@asu.edu
