Judge Melissa Vara currently serves the San Antonio community as Judge of County Court No. 15. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Melissa has dedicated her career to serving her community.

She is also a proud alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin where she received a Batchelor of Arts in Government and graduated with the highest honors. In 2012, Melissa graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law and went on to open the Law Office of Melissa M. Vara, where she specialized in criminal defense, family law, and probate.

Melissa Vara was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in government from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law.

Melissa Vara opened the Law Office of Melissa M. Vara, where she specialized in criminal defense, family law, and probate.

Melissa has always been an advocate for the community, which eventually propelled her to run for Judge of County Court No. 15. In November of 2018, she was elected as judge at the age of 32.

BEXAR COUNTY COURTS-AT-LAW

County Court 15
Judge Melissa Vara (D)
Ph: 210-335-1245
Term: 4 Years
Expires: 2026

Melissa currently serves as judge of Bexar County Court-at-Law No. 15. She was elected in 2018.

2026 Texas General Election

LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
Hon. Melissa Vara
County Court-at-Law No. 15300 Dolorosa Rd, 4th Floor
San Antonio, TX 78205
Ph. (210) 335-1245
Fax (210) 335-1219

2.1 Judicial Candidate Resource Guide 

Opened the Law Office of Melissa M. Vara and specialized in criminal defense, family law, and probate.

Serves as Bexar County's local administrative judge.

As a county court judge, she oversees cases involving traffic offenses and local ordinance violations and issues search and arrest warrants.

- Opened the Law Office of Melissa M. Vara and specialized in criminal defense, family law, and probate.
- Serves as Bexar County's local administrative judge.
- As a county court judge, she oversees cases involving traffic offenses and local ordinance violations and issues search and arrest warrants.

Legal Experience

Judge Vara's Vision

Judge Vara is dedicated to implementing a fair and impartial court system for the Bexar County community. She vows to be objective and to follow the law in every case that comes before her.

Judge Vara is committed to continuing her strong work ethic by continuing to manage the court's criminal docket efficiently, assisting with various civil dockets and being a part of innovative programs like "Bexar Gives Back."

She believes a “tough but fair” approach is what best serves the administration of justice for our community.

Pol. adv. paid for by the Melissa Vara Campaign, Albert Garcia, Treasurer. In compliance with the voluntary limits of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.

Pledges to be objective and follow the law in every case.

Believes a “tough but fair” approach best serves the administration of justice.

- Pledges to be objective and follow the law in every case.
- Believes a “tough but fair” approach best serves the administration of justice.

Judicial Philosophy

Judge Vara is dedicated to implementing a fair and impartial court system for the Bexar County community. She vows to be objective and to follow the law in every case that comes before her.

Judge Vara is committed to continuing her strong work ethic by continuing to manage the court's criminal docket efficiently, assisting with various civil dockets and being a part of innovative programs like "Bexar Gives Back."

Throughout my term I have managed an efficient criminal docket and have also assisted various courts when help was needed. For example, I took domestic violence cases that were elevated due to the pandemic, assisted with civil county court dockets, and assisted with Child Protective Services dockets. I feel it’s important that our community knows they have judges like me who are here to work for them.

Melissa Vara | 2022 candidate for Bexar County Court at Law No. 15 - San Antonio Report

Additionally, I have been a presence in the courthouse throughout the entire pandemic, having daily dockets via Zoom from my chambers so that I was easily accessible. Lastly, I pride myself on treating everyone who comes in the court with the respect and kindness that they deserve.

Calls for morning and afternoon daily dockets and multiple monthly jury settings to reduce the pandemic case backlog.

I believe the top challenge is the backlog of cases created due to the pandemic and the impact it has had on the judiciary. For many months jury trials and other in person hearings were not taking place in the criminal courts, which created a huge delay in moving the dockets and giving the accused and victims their day in court. I feel this issue should be addressed by having daily dockets, both morning and afternoon, to efficiently move cases and by having multiple jury trial settings a month to ensure a speedy path to trial for both the accused and the victims.

Prioritizes efficient management of criminal dockets and assistance with civil dockets.

Held daily Zoom dockets from chambers during the pandemic to remain accessible.

- Prioritizes efficient management of criminal dockets and assistance with civil dockets.
- Held daily Zoom dockets from chambers during the pandemic to remain accessible.

Judicial Administration

As of July 22, 2026, Melissa Vara’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Ethics & Conduct

Community Involvement

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>Application Error</title>
    <style media="screen">
      html,body,iframe {
        margin: 0;
        padding: 0;
      }

      html,body {
        height: 100%;
        overflow: hidden;
      }

      iframe {
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        border: 0;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <iframe src="https://www.herokucdn.com/error-pages/application-error.html"></iframe>
  </body>
</html>

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Melissa Vara

November-8-2022-General-Election-Summary-Report-PDF

- Opened the Law Office of Melissa M. Vara and specialized in criminal defense, family law, and probate.
- Serves as Bexar County's local administrative judge.

Melissa Vara is currently a judge for the Bexar County Court at Law. She was first elected in November 2018. She has been voted by her peers as the administrative judge for the County Courts of Law.

Vara hopes to be inspiration for others – Post Register

Commits to managing the court's criminal docket efficiently, assisting with civil dockets, and participating in innovative programs like "Bexar Gives Back."

Buket Urgen

Isaac Brickman

- A County Court-At-Law judge handles misdemeanors, such as assault of a family member, property theft between $750 and $2,500, and using force against a law enforcement officer. They also handle civil cases where the amount in question does not exceed $200,000. 
- County Court-At-Law judges conduct arraignments, pre-trial hearings, and jury trials, as well as accept guilty pleas. 
- They are elected in a partisan, county-wide election to a four-year term. 
- Candidates must be a U.S. citizen, at least 25 years old, have been a Texas and county resident for at least 24 consecutive months, a practicing lawyer and/or judge in Texas for at least four years, and registered to vote in that county.
- The annual salary for County Court-At-Law Judges ranges from $174,000 to $244,500, depending on years of service and how much they receive as a county supplement.

Handles civil and criminal cases from District Courts.