Maria Aurelia Salas-Mendoza at a glance
- Current role
- Administrative Law Judge
- Current assignment
- El Paso County District Courts
- Jurisdiction
- Texas · State
- Judicial service
- Active
Maria Aurelia Salas-Mendoza
Administrative Law Judge · El Paso County District Courts
Biography
Professional career
- Since January 1, 2025, Salas-Mendoza has held the role of Chief Justice of the 8th Court of Appeals in El Paso, Texas, after being elected unopposed in the 2024 judicial election.
- The Chief Justice of the Texas 8th Court of Appeals, elected in January 2025, and a former judge of the 120th District Court in El Paso, Texas
- Presiding Judge, Texas 120th Judicial District Court, El Paso, TX, 2019-2022
- Presiding Judge, Texas 120th Judicial District Court, El Paso, TX, 2015-2018
- Presiding Judge, Texas 120th Judicial District Court, El Paso, TX, 2011-2014
- Presiding Judge, Texas 120th Judicial District Court, El Paso, TX, 2007-2010
- Administrative Law Judge, El Paso County District Courts, TX, ?-present
- She is also active in community service through the Lions Club, mentoring students, and supporting programs for veterans, the unhomed, and justice-involved individuals
Education
- University of California-Los Angeles — J.D. (1994)
- UCLA School of Law in — J.D. (1994)
- History, Literature, cum laude — Harvard University — 1990
- J.D. — University of California School of Law at Los Angeles
- A.B. — Radcliffe College at Harvard University
Additional information
- Practitioner, El Paso Legal Aid, El Paso, TX, 1997-1999
- She then returned to El Paso in 1996 as a staff attorney at the El Paso Legal Assistance Society (later TRLA) and later held the role of an Assistant County Attorney in civil defense.
- The highest-ranking state judicial officer in El Paso and oversees the appellate court’s operations.
- The Immediate Past Chair of the Hispanic Lawyers Section, founder of Texas Latinx Judges, and former District 11 Director of the National Association of Women Judges.
- Born and raised in El Paso, Salas-Mendoza earned a bachelor’s degree in History and Literature (cum laude) from Harvard-Radcliffe College
- Her legal career began at the Harriet Buhai Center for Family Law in Los Angeles, where she trained volunteers and provided Spanish-language clinics for low-income clients.
- She serves on the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee, Pattern Jury Charge Committee (Business), and the ABA Standing Committee on Diversity in the Judiciary.
- An El Paso native, she is the mother of four children: Michael, Austin, Melina, and Dillon.
- She has a long-standing commitment to public service, which she has described as central to her life’s work.
- Birth place: El Paso, TX
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
Statewide
In civil district and county court proceedings, the court may permit or require electronic participation after appropriate notice; compelled electronic participation for oral-testimony proceedings requires good cause or party agreement, and a jury trial requires party agreement.
Upon appropriate notice by a party or the court, a court may allow or require a participant to appear at a court proceeding by videoconference, teleconference, or other available electronic means, except as otherwise provided in (2).Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings ↗
Recording and broadcasting
Statewide
Civil district and county trial courts may permit courtroom recording or broadcasting only under Supreme Court guidelines, with the required party and witness consent, or for ceremonial proceedings.
A trial court may permit broadcasting, televising, recording, or photographing of proceedings in the courtroom only in the following circumstances:Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings
El Paso County District Courts
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings
El Paso County District Courts
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing
Texas 8th Court of Appeals
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Sources
Identity source checked June 30, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 10, 2026.
El Paso County District Courts current judicial profile
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 2, 2026
View El Paso County District Courts current judicial profile ↗Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings ↗Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings ↗Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 27, 2026
View Texas Judicial Branch official judicial roster ↗Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.2, Electronic Filing ↗Texas 8th Court of Appeals official directory
Identity source · HTML · Source checked October 11, 2026
View Texas 8th Court of Appeals official directory ↗