--- title: "Andrew S. Hanen | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/andrew-s-hanen" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Andrew S. Hanen U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ยท Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas - State: Texas - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, S.D. Texas, 2002-present - Briefing attorney, Hon. Joe Greenhill, Supreme Court of Texas, 1978-1979 - Andrew Scott Hanen is an American judge who currently serves as a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas ### Education - Baylor University School of Law in โ€” J.D. (1978) ### Additional information - He held the role of an active judge until January 2, 2025, when he assumed senior status - On January 23, 2002, President George W. Bush nominated Hanen to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, vacated by Filemon Vela Sr. - Confirmed by the Senate on May 9, 2002 - received his commission on May 10, 2002. - Private practice, Houston, TX, 1979-2002 - Hanen was born in Elgin, Illinois in 1953 and raised in Waco, Texas. - Date of birth: 1953-01-01 - Veteran federal judge with over two decades of service on the Southern District of Texas bench, known for both his judicial work and his outspoken positions on immigration policy. - Birth place: Elgin, IL ## 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 ### 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/1391491) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391491) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391491) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1354/andrew-s-hanen/) - [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/1354/andrew-s-hanen/) - [Wikidata: Andrew S. Hanen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4758478) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/andrew-s-hanen", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/andrew-s-hanen", "name": "Andrew S. Hanen | KnowJudges", "description": "Andrew S. Hanen, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/andrew-s-hanen#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/andrew-s-hanen#judge", "name": "Andrew S. 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Hanen", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/andrew-s-hanen" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 629 | 67 | 1.3 | 67 | | 2y | 1312 | 405 | 3 | 405 | | 5y | 2808 | 1703 | 5.4 | 1703 | | 10y | 3990 | 2857 | 6.5 | 2857 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) โ€” Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. 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) โ€” 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.