Weekly Lunch Lunch at the Witte

Justice Velia J. Meza was raised in El Paso, Texas. She attended the women’s college at Columbia University in NYC where she earned her degree in Economics. She worked briefly for Merrill Lynch in NYC but quickly found herself working in the Criminal Justice System. Justice Meza worked for the New York City Criminal Justice Agency where she wrote release recommendations for the arraignment Judges in Manhattan Criminal Court. She returned to Texas to attend St. Mary’s University School of Law.  

After law school, Justice Meza started her own practice focusing on criminal law, family law, and other civil matters. She practiced law in all South Texas for 17 years prior to being elected to the 226th Criminal District Court.

In 2020 when the pandemic shut down in-person court proceedings, Justice Meza trained defense attorneys and their clients (including inmates) how to transition to virtual proceedings on Zoom. She developed and presented CLE opportunities for Bexar County Attorneys on the Ethical Considerations of  the Zoom Plea Process (2020) and Courtroom Technology (2021). Justice Meza also helped develop an alternative to incarceration program in 2020 in collaboration with the Bexar County Sherriff’s Office. Justice Meza helped implement the “Bexar County Gives Back” program which is fully operational today and has saved Bexar County over a million dollars.

Justice Meza is an adjunct professor of advocacy at St. Mary’s University School of Law where she works with the National Trial Team. She also teaches pre-law courses at the College of Liberal and Fine Arts at the University of Texas, San Antonio.

Justice Meza has been married to her husband Cesar Canizalez for 24 years. They have three boys together and they enjoy the outdoors and traveling together.