--- title: "Lynn Nettleton Hughes | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lynn-nettleton-hughes" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Lynn Nettleton Hughes U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas · 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, 1985-present - Inactive senior judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, having assumed senior status on February 12, 2023 - Service: held the role of a district judge from 1985 until senior status in 2023 - Adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law (1973–2003) and University of Texas School of Law (1990–1991) - District Judge, Harris County 189th Judicial District (1981–1985) - Judge, Harris County [Texas] One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth District Court, 1981-1985 - District Judge, Harris County 165th Judicial District (1979–1980) - Judge, Harris County [Texas] One Hundred and Sixty-Fifth District Court, 1979-1980 ### Education - University of Virginia School of Law — LL.M. (1992) - University of Texas School of Law — J.D. (1966) - University of Alabama — B.A. (1963) ### Additional information - Appointed: Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on October 16, 1985, to replace Robert J. O’Conor Jr. - Confirmed: By the U.S. Senate on December 16, 1985; commission issued December 17, 1985 - Private practice, Houston, TX, 1966-1979 - Private practice, Houston, Texas, 1966-1979 - President, Southwest Resources, Houston, TX, 1969-1970 - President, Southwest Resources, Houston, Texas, 1969-1970 - Born 1941 in Houston, Texas. - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - Notable for: A history of rulings reversed on appeal, including in sex discrimination and other cases, and for being removed from multiple cases due to alleged bias or procedural issues. - Birth place: Houston, 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 ### 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/1382501) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382501) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382501) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1550/lynn-nettleton-hughes/) - [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/1550/lynn-nettleton-hughes/) - [Judge Lynn Nettleton Hughes](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382501) - [Wikidata: Lynn Hughes](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6709075) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lynn-nettleton-hughes", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lynn-nettleton-hughes", "name": "Lynn Nettleton Hughes | KnowJudges", "description": "Lynn Nettleton Hughes, 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.