Judge Melisa De La Garza

De La Garza 2019
Melisa De La Garza

Department Fifteen
Las Vegas Township Justice Court

Term of Office 2019 - Present

Kiara Schmidt, Judicial Executive Assistant
Office:  (702) 671-4624
Fax:     (702) 382-6589
Email:   LVJCDepartment15@ClarkCountyNV.gov

Department 15 Zoom Information

Judge Melisa De La Garza was raised in Las Vegas, graduated from Eldorado High School, and received her Bachelor of Science with a degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  She continued her education by obtaining her Juris Doctorate from the Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska.

 
Upon returning to Las Vegas, Judge De La Garza was the first Law Clerk for the Justice Court, Las Vegas Township. When she passed the Nevada State Bar, she was hired by District Attorney Stew Bell and prosecuted cases for 8 years as a Deputy District Attorney. She continued as a trial attorney in the Public Defender’s Office for the next three years before opening her own law practice. During that time she was also a pro tem in North Las Vegas and Henderson.

Judge De La Garza returned to the County in 2010 as a Hearing Master for Eighth Judicial District Court. As a hearing master, she presided over the criminal arraignment calendar, the Felony DUI Court Program and handled employment and juvenile matters.

In June 2018, Judge De La Garza was elected as the first Justice of the Peace in Justice Court, Las Vegas Township, Department 15. Elected for a six-year term, she presided over a Battery Domestic Violence calendar for her first four years.  She currently presides over a civil calendar as well as the Community Court Treatment Programs.