From his days as a police officer to eventually being named the host of the nationally syndicated daytime show, “Judge Alex,” Hon. Alex Ferrer discusses his successful career with Crimejunkies...

LET’S START AT THE BEGINNING, YOU ESCAPED CUBA WHEN YOU WERE TEN-MONTHS-OLD?

My family lived in Cuba when [Fidel] Castro took power. My grandfather had been a high-ranking law enforcement officer in Cuba. He was asked to stay on with Castro's regime, and he refused so he was basically marked for death. He had to flee quickly, which he did. Then, we followed shortly after. We were able to get out but it was a little complicated because I was so young that I didn't have a visa. But ultimately, we were to get into the country. We came here when i was 10 months old, and I've lived in Miami my whole life. My parents started over and built a new career here.

YOUR FIRST JOB WAS A POLICE OFFICER?

Well, the first thing I did was work in a gas station and pumped gas. I worked there while I was in high school. And then, I went and got my pilot's license when I was 18-years-old. I decided it was a great hobby but not something I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I then became a police officer. I was 19 so I was the youngest police officer, or at least one of the youngest police officers in Miami at the time. And then, I went to law school full-time during the daytime while I worked as a police officer at night full-time. I made it through law school and started working as a lawyer. I was a litigator.

WHAT CAPACITY DID YOU SERVE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT?

A little of everything. I did parole work. I did some undercover work. I did some detective work. And then when I became a lawyer, I became a litigator. But, I did not get the same personal gratification out of it as I did as a police officer. I always felt good about police work and always tried to do the right thing, and I figured being a judge would probably be similar in the respect that you're always trying to do the right thing. I decided to run for judge, and I was elected. I was, at the time, the youngest circuit court judge in Miami. I did that for ten years. I became the Associate Administrative Judge of the criminal division. In Miami, the criminal division alone has four judges. And, I taught judges throughout Florida in different judicial colleges that we have, and I still do in fact. They still ask me to teach.

TO BACK UP A BIT, WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THEN EVENTUALLY THE LAW?

I think it has plenty to do with my upbringing. My grandfather was in law enforcement, and my parents were always working very hard to establish a good life for the family. I was brought up with a very good sense of right and wrong. I think a lot of guys want to go into law enforcement. When you are a boy and you are young, you want to be a cop or a firefighter. I think it fit my personality well. I enjoy helping people. If I hadn't gone into police work, I probably would have gone into medicine. Being a cop and being a judge is probably the career that I'm well suited for because it's what appeals to me.

TALK TO ME ABOUT THE MOVE FROM LAWYER TO JUDGE.

I loved it because I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to fight anyone's battles. I was just trying to do what was right within the law. It was very gratifying for me, and I really enjoyed it.

AS A JUDGE, DOES IT HELP THAT YOU STARTED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT?

I'm the only judge on television who has been a cop or lawyer and a judge. It's a new angle that others don't have, and I think it's very helpful in getting to the bottom of things. It helped me as a lawyer, and it also helps me as a judge.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO TAKE THE JUMP INTO TELEVISION?

It wasn't as different as I thought it would be because I still would run my courtroom the same way as I would have handled it in Miami. The only difference is that I get to speak my mind more. I get to express myself and give my opinions more and be more reactive. Judges are generally taught to be very reserved. You saw during the Supreme Court hearings for Supreme Court Justices that you always want to know what the judge is thinking on a topic, but judges always resist talking about their positions or opinions in cases that appear before them. They have to recuse themselves or at least ask to recuse themselves. I get to give my opinions and tell people what I think of their case or what they did and that's very liberating. It's a lot of fun, and it's different from being a reserved laid-back judge that is not really supposed to give his or her opinions. I was never a reserved or laid-back judge. I was always kind of a little more expressive, I guess. But, you still have your limitations with being a state court judge and things you can say and things you can't say and things you can discuss and things you can't discuss. But, I don't have those ties.

DO YOU FIND IT CHALLENGING TO HEAR CASES WITH ALL OF THE CAMERAS THERE?

I was used to cameras because it came to a point where I was dealing with a lot of high profile cases. I was used to having national exposure. But, I wasn't used to having seven cameras and all of those lights. But, I adjusted to that very quickly. It's not that difficult, at least not for me.

FINALLY, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR SUCCESS?

My advice is to get as much education as you can because that was the advice given by my parents, and I did. I could have stopped when I became a police officer and just stayed as a cop. They suggested that I may want to do something different later and to get as much education as I could, and I did. If I hadn't done that, I would not have had all these opportunities  that came up. When I finished law school, I found that I was ready to try something different. I loved police work, and I miss it but a lot of people get stuck in a career that they don't like because they stopped their education. They thought, "This is fine. I enjoy it, and I'm making decent money." But we have the best educational opportunities of any country in the world and so many people don't take advantage of it. My advice is to always get as much education as you can because you never know what you are going to want to do in the future and that's going to be your base.