In 2008, Azcarate was elected by the General Assembly to serve on Virginia's General District Court Bench. Her election was historic as she was the first woman to hold this position.[6] While a judge, Azcarate observed a high number of veterans developing criminal records as a result of
PTSD. In 2014, she introduced a plan to create a special veterans' treatment docket in Fairfax County, with the goal of preventing veterans from getting criminal records and instead getting the treatment they needed.[7][8] As a result of Azcarate's efforts, by 2016, Fairfax County established a Veterans Treatment Docket in each of its three courts, General District, Juvenile and Domestic Relations and Circuit Court.[5][9]
On February 25, 2015, Azcarate was elected by the
Virginia General Assembly as the first female chief judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Virginia, and took office on July 1.[10][11] Azcarate's predecessor, chief judge Bruce D. White, handled early, pre-trial issues related to the Depp v. Heard case.[12]