Tamara B. Needles at a glance
- Current role
- District Judge
- Jurisdiction
- Texas · State
- Judicial service
- Active
Tamara B. Needles
District Judge · Texas 427th District Court
Biography
Professional career
- The presiding judge of the 427th District Court in Travis County, Texas, a position she has held since 2016
- Sole practitioner in Lubbock and later a partner at McKelvy & Needles
- Judge Needles is registered as a Democrat and has been re-elected to continue her work in Travis County courts
Education
- Texas Tech University School of Law — J.D. (1997)
- in Speech Communication, Texas Tech University — B.A. (1992)
Additional information
- Before joining the bench, Judge Needles had nearly two decades in criminal defense practice in Texas
- representing clients from traffic citations to capital murder cases, including felony jury trials.
- Judge Needles oversees a wide range of criminal matters in Travis County, including general criminal cases, specialized dockets, and administrative matters.
- Needles emphasizes a humanity-first approach
- focusing on fairness, efficiency, and community reintegration rather than simply processing cases.
- She also taught 10th-grade English for a year after earning her bachelor’s degree.
- Also Chair of the Behavioral Health Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, leading initiatives to address mental health and substance use issues within the criminal justice system.
- Under her leadership, efforts include developing a mental health diversion program to redirect low-level, non-violent offenders with mental health needs away from jail and into hospital-based treatment.
- She also manages the Travis County Supervision and Monitoring for Alcohol-Related Treatment (SMART) Re-Entry Court, a specialized docket that uses court supervision to support individuals in alcohol treatment programs.
- She directs parties to resources and supports rehabilitation, aiming to improve community outcomes.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
Statewide
In civil district and county court proceedings, the court may permit or require electronic participation after appropriate notice; compelled electronic participation for oral-testimony proceedings requires good cause or party agreement, and a jury trial requires party agreement.
Upon appropriate notice by a party or the court, a court may allow or require a participant to appear at a court proceeding by videoconference, teleconference, or other available electronic means, except as otherwise provided in (2).Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings ↗
Recording and broadcasting
Statewide
Civil district and county trial courts may permit courtroom recording or broadcasting only under Supreme Court guidelines, with the required party and witness consent, or for ceremonial proceedings.
A trial court may permit broadcasting, televising, recording, or photographing of proceedings in the courtroom only in the following circumstances:Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings
Texas 427th District Court
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings
Texas 427th District Court
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Sources
Identity source checked July 25, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 10, 2026.
Texas Office of Court Administration official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 25, 2026
View Texas Office of Court Administration official judicial roster ↗Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings ↗Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings ↗Texas 427th District Court official directory
Identity source · HTML · Source checked October 11, 2026
View Texas 427th District Court official directory ↗