Judge Melisa De La Garza

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 Blue Jeans Information

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Judge Melisa De La Garza was raised in Las Vegas and graduated from Eldorado High School. She received her Bachelor of Science with a degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Judge De La Garza obtained her Juris Doctorate from the Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska. She was the Frances M. Ryan Scholarship recipient during her entire tenure at Creighton University.

Judge De La Garza was the first Law Clerk for the Justice Court, Las Vegas Township. Upon passing the bar, she was hired by District Attorney Stew Bell and she 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 currently presides over one of the Battery Domestic Violence calendars.