Alia Moses (born January 6, 1962),
formerly known as Alia Moses Ludlum, is the
Chief United States district judge of the
.
Early life and education
Born in
Eagle Pass, Texas, Moses graduated in 1983 from
Texas Woman's University
Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...
with a
Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting, and in 1986 from the
University of Texas School of Law with a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
.
Legal career
Following law school graduation, Moses was an attorney in the
Travis County
Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is na ...
Attorney's Office in Austin, Texas from 1986 to 1990. She was an
assistant United States attorney
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
and chief of the
Del Rio office in the Western District of Texas from 1990 to 1997. She worked as a part-time
mediator
Mediator may refer to:
*A person who engages in mediation
*Business mediator, a mediator in business
* Vanishing mediator, a philosophical concept
* Mediator variable, in statistics
Chemistry and biology
*Mediator (coactivator), a multiprotein ...
in private practice from 1997 to 2000.
Federal judicial career
Moses began her federal judicial career as a
United States magistrate judge
In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...
when she was appointed to a four-year part-term in 1997. In 2000, she was promoted to a full-term magistrate judge.
On the recommendation of Texas Senators
Phil Gramm
William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was ...
and
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republi ...
, Moses was nominated by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on July 11, 2002, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Her seat was previously held by
Harry Lee Hudspeth
Harry Lee Hudspeth (born December 28, 1935) is a former United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in Dallas, Texas, Hudspeth receive ...
, who then went into
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
. Moses was confirmed by the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
on November 14, 2002, and received her commission the next day. Moses was appointed to the court under the name of Alia Moses Ludlum. Moses became chief judge on November 18, 2022, when her predecessor
Orlando Luis Garcia turned 70 years old.
See also
*
List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists
This is a list of Hispanic/Latino Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, or administrative law judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts.
Other topics of interest
* List ...
*
List of first women lawyers and judges in Texas
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Texas. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their stat ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Alia
1962 births
Living people
Assistant United States Attorneys
Hispanic and Latino American judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
People from Eagle Pass, Texas
Texas Woman's University alumni
United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush
21st-century American judges
United States magistrate judges
University of Texas School of Law alumni
21st-century American women judges