Judge Andre Peñalver on Rule of Law and Human-Centered Courts

In this episode of Soul-Centered Attorney, Favian Valencia sits down with Judge Andre Peñalver of the Pierce County Superior Court for a thoughtful conversation about the rule of law, the human side of the courtroom, and what judges are seeing as technology begins to change the practice of law.Judge Peñalver shares how his father’s experience as a Cuban refugee shaped his understanding of due process and justice, and how that path eventually led him from private practice and federal prosecution to the superior court bench. The conversation covers court funding, jury trials, access to justice, ICE arrests near courthouses, Zoom hearings, AI tools, expert witnesses, and the importance of keeping people—not procedures—at the center of the legal system.They also discuss what makes trial lawyers effective, why storytelling matters in front of juries, how judges balance law and science, and what “soul-centered law” means from the perspective of the bench.