Hilda G. Tagle

Hilda G. Tagle (born 1946) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Hilda G. Tagle
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office December 31, 2012
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
In office March 17, 1998 – December 31, 2012
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089
Succeeded by	Jose Rolando Olvera, Jr.
Personal details
Born	1946 (age 74–75) Corpus Christi, Texas
Education	Del Mar College (A.A.) East Texas State University (B.A.) North Texas State University (M.S.) University of Texas School of Law (J.D.)

Early life and education

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Her last name is of Spanish and Arabic origins. Hilda was raised in a small South Texas town called Robstown. Of five children, Tagle was the eldest. Hilda has four younger brothers who currently reside in Corpus Christi.[1] She was raised Catholic by her mother and attended church with her mother on a regular basis. She enjoyed reading books at an early age and spent most of her time in the local library. Her advanced reading skills allowed her to skip the second grade. Hilda's mother encouraged her to become a licensed beautician at the age of sixteen. Hilda never worked as a beautician. Her desire was to attend and excel in college. In 1965, she enrolled at Del Mar College after she graduated from high school. She received her Associate's of Art degree in 1967. Two years later she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from East Texas State University where she decided to become a full-time librarian. Her passion for reading helped her decide her career decision. After graduating from East Texas, she decided to move to North Texas and start graduate school there. She received a Master of Science from North Texas State University in 1971, and worked as a professor at a Jesuit school in Houston Texas. In the summer 1975, she decided to attend law school and began studying at the University of Texas in Austin. She finished law school in twenty-seven months graduating in 1977.[1]

Career Accomplishments

In 1977, she returned to Corpus Christi where she worked as an assistant county attorney. She was a law clerk for the Legal Aid Society of Central Texas. A year later she was an assistant county attorney of Nueces County Attorney's Office. In 1980, she was again selected by the Nueces County District Attorney to try felonies.[2] After working for the District Attorney's office, she began teaching at Del Mar College from 1981 to 1985. In 1985, she became the first Hispanic female judge in Nueces County and the first Hispanic female county court at law judge in Texas. In addition, Judge Tagle was one of the first females to try criminal jury cases. She was also the second Hispanic female judge in the state of Texas.[2] Ten years later in 1995, shes was selected by former president Bill Clinton to serve as the 148th district Court in Corpus Christi. In August 1995, President Clinton selected Hilda to be the U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas. In February 1997, Judge Tagle was chosen a second time by President Clinton and she was approved by the Senate the next month. Several years later, she was elected by former Governor Ann Richards to the Governor's Commission for Women. Judge Tagle was involved in several civic activities. She was the founding chair member of the Mexican American Bar of the Coastal Bend, the Corpus Christi Bar Association and the Hispanic Women's Network.[2] Judge Tagle also won a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012. Judge Tagle recently received the 2017 Sarah T. Hughes Woman's Lawyers of Achievement Award.[3]

Judicial service

Tagle was a judge on the Nueces County Court, at Law No. 3, Texas from 1985 to 1994. She was a judge on the 148th District Court, Texas from 1995 to 1998.

Tagle is a Senior United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Tagle was nominated by President Bill Clinton on March 21, 1997, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 11, 1998, and received her commission on March 17, 1998. She took senior status on December 31, 2012.

References

1. Espinoza, D. (2009-03-24). "Chicanas in Charge: Texas Women in the Public Arena". Oral History Review. 36 (1): 110–112. doi:10.1093/ohr/ohp017. ISSN 0094-0798. S2CID 161251031.
2. "Hilda Gloria Tagle, 1946 - . An Inventory to the Collection". legacy.lib.utexas.edu. Tagle, Hilda Gloria, 1946 - . Retrieved 2018-11-10.CS1 maint: others (link)
3. "Center for Women in Law | Power Lunch Series Featuring Hon. Hilda Tagle". law.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-10.

External links

• Hilda G. Tagle at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.