Judge Lisa Chavez Ortega

Manuel Arrieta

New Mexico Second Judicial District Court, Division XIII

Background Lisa Chavez Ortega is a district court judge in Division XIII of the New Mexico Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque. She presides over civil matters, including personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, premises liability, general negligence, and other civil litigation.

Education She graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1997.

Prior Experience For more than twenty years prior to taking the bench, Ortega maintained a civil litigation practice focused on serious personal injury and wrongful death claims throughout New Mexico.

Appointment & Current Role A Democrat and a 2019 EMERGE NM alum, she assumed the bench on March 15, 2019, following appointment by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

  • In 2022, she ordered Albuquerque Public Schools to release requested public records under the Inspection of Public Records Act and to pay damages of up to $100 per day for delays in compliance.
  • In 2024, she presided over a civil case involving leaked campaign materials for political candidate Mark Ronchetti. She awarded him more than $386,000 in damages against Go Big Media Inc. for breach of confidentiality. She described the company’s actions as “incomprehensible and inexcusable” but did not find the leak intentional.
  • In 2026, she issued a ruling that halted a trial involving a woman’s 2021 suicide, finding that Albuquerque police had no legal duty to prevent the death.

Election Status She was elected unopposed in the November 2020 general election. Her current term expires on January 1, 2027, and she is up for retention in the 2026 cycle.

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