--- title: "Alia Moses | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alia-moses" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Alia Moses U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas - State: Texas - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Texas, 2002-present - Moses became the first female district judge to reside in the Del Rio Division and, on November 18, 2022, became the first female Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 1997-2002 - Assistant U.S. attorney and chief of Del Rio Division, Western District of Texas, 1990-1997 - She then moved to Del Rio, Texas, to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney and Chief of the Del Rio Division for the Western District of Texas from 1990 to 1997 - Assistant county attorney and chief of appellate section, Travis County, TX, 1986-1990 - Began her legal career at the Travis County Attorney’s Office in Austin, Texas, serving as a law clerk and later as an attorney, eventually becoming Chief of the Appellate Section from 1986 to 1990 - Moses has made history twice: first as the first woman appointed to the Western District of Texas, and later as its first female Chief Judge ### Education - University of Texas School of Law in — J.D. (1986) - B.B.A. — Texas Woman's University — 1983 - Moses graduated from Texas Woman’s University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting ### Additional information - On July 11, 2002, she was nominated by President George W. Bush to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, filling the seat vacated by Harry Lee Hudspeth. - Mediator in private practice (part-time), Texas, 1997-2000 - Between 1997 and 2000, she worked part-time as a mediator in private practice - Selected as a United States Magistrate Judge in 1997, initially part-time, and became a full-time magistrate judge in 2000. - Date of birth: 1962-01-01 - Also recognized for mentoring numerous law clerks who have gone on to successful legal careers, emphasizing her role in shaping the next generation of attorneys - She manages court units including probation, pre-trial services, clerk’s offices, magistrate judges, and district judges. - As Chief Judge, Moses oversees administrative and budgetary matters for the 68-county Western District of Texas, which spans 93,000 square miles and includes cities such as El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Waco, and Del Rio. - Birth place: Eagle Pass, TX ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### electronic trial exhibits Scope: courtwide The Western District of Texas publishes JERS guidance for electronically capturing trial evidence and provides evidence-presentation equipment to members of the bar practicing in the district. Evidence excerpt: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas uses the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) to capture evidence electronically during a trial. The Court provides evidence presentation equipment to any member of the bar practicing within the Western District of Texas. [JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### electronic exhibit submission Scope: courtwide For JERS electronic exhibit submission, the Western District of Texas publishes a single-storage-device requirement and directs parties to submit files by the deadline set by the assigned courtroom deputy. Evidence excerpt: All files must be provided on a single storage device such as a CD, DVD, or USB drive. ... All files must be submitted based on the deadline set by the CRD associated with your case. [JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391681) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391681) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391681) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2330/alia-moses/) - [JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2330/alia-moses/) - [Wikidata: Alia M. Ludlum](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4725344) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alia-moses", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alia-moses", "name": "Alia Moses | KnowJudges", "description": "Alia Moses, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.