--- title: "Dena Palermo | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dena-palermo-texas-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Dena Palermo U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas - State: Texas - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Law Clerk, U.S. District Court - Southern District of Texas, 1983–1985 (to John Singleton) - Before joining the bench, Palermo was a litigation partner at Vinson & Elkins and later at Hunton Andrews Kurth, where she co‐chaired the Securities Enforcement and White Collar Crime practice group. ### Education - B.A. from Binghamton University (1980) and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law (1983), graduating magna cum laude and serving as an editor of the Law Review. ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, S.D. Texas, 2016-present - Practitioner, Andrews, Kurth, 2008–2016-03 - She has also been active in bar associations, founding the Houston Bar Association’s mentor program in 1993. - She is licensed to practice in New York (1984) and Texas (1985). - J.D. — Boston Univ. — 1983 - Practitioner, Vinson & Elkins - Practitioner, Mayer Brown - Judge Palermo serves in Courtroom 702 at the U.S. Courthouse, 515 Rusk Avenue, Houston, Texas. - Appointed by the judges of the Southern District of Texas to a renewable eight‐year term. - Memberships: Houston Bar Association, Federal Magistrate Judges Association, Fifth Circuit Judicial Council, Southern District of Texas Facilities Committee - After law school, she clerked for Chief Judge John Singleton of the Southern District of Texas. - She also held the role of co‐chair of Andrews Kurth’s securities enforcement and white collar crime group. - She routinely conducts oral hearings on pending motions and has implemented procedures to provide more speaking opportunities in court. - Her chambers are reached at 713‐250‐2702. ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=49) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=49) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=49) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9587/dena-palermo/) - [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/9587/dena-palermo/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Dena Hanovice Palermo](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9587/dena-palermo/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Dena Hanovice Palermo](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dena-palermo-texas-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dena-palermo-texas-us-magistrate", "name": "Dena Palermo | KnowJudges", "description": "Dena Palermo, U.S. District Court for the Southern 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.