Judge Lisa C. Schultz: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Lisa C. Schultz (Ret.) served as a judge for the 3rd Judicial District Court of New Mexico. Schultz was elected to the bench in 2006 and re-elected in 2008, 2014, and 2020. She retired on June 30, 2021.

The 3rd Judicial District encompasses Doña Ana County. Over the course of her judicial career, Schultz held assignments as the Presiding Judge of the Mental Health Court, the Family Court, and the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program. She also played an instrumental role in the New York Supreme Court’s decision to allow the unshackling of children in the 3rd Judicial District Court.

Schultz earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands (1979) and a master’s degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School (1981). She financed her studies with employment in neuroanatomy and metabolism laboratories, working alongside Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini, who won a Nobel Prize in Medicine. Schultz later completed a J.D. at the New York Law School in 1985. She is admitted to practice in New Mexico (1985) and Texas (1991). She is also the first judge in New Mexico to be certified as a Trauma Informed Trainer.

After graduating from law school, Schultz entered into private practice. She worked in that capacity until her election to the bench.

Her memberships have included the Doña Ana Women's Bar Association (president).

Schultz and her spouse, Veronica, relocated to Las Cruces in 1985. She was raised in an artistic family, her father having worked as an architectural sculptor and her mother having worked as a musician and a poet.