Judge Shonnetta R. Estrada: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Shonnetta R. Estrada is a judge for the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in New Mexico. She was appointed to the bench by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on November 14, 2022, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Sandra Engel.

Prior to her appointment, Estrada was a prosecutor for the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, a position she held for four years. During her tenure there, she started in the General Crimes Division, rising through the ranks to become a senior trial attorney and an assistant supervisor in the Major Crimes Division.

Estrada earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and flamenco dance from the University of New Mexico in 2012. She also completed a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law. As a law student, Estrada externed with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, and the New Mexico Public Defender’s Office.

She was admitted to the State Bar of New Mexico in 2018.

Her memberships have included the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association, the National District Attorneys Association, and the H. Vearle Payne American Inn of Court. She has also been involved with the State Bar of New Mexico’s Young Lawyers Division.

Estrada was born and raised in Denver, Colorado.