Lynn Nettleton Hughes
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and confirmed by voice vote, Lynn Nettleton Hughes is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He earned a law degree from University of Texas School of Law in 1966. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1941 · age 85
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1985
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Alabama 1963 · University of Texas Law 1966
- Succeeded
- Robert J. O'Conor Jr.
- Succeeded by
- Nicholas Jon Ganjei
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Southern District of Texas succeeded Robert J. O'Conor Jr. | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| University of Alabama | B.A. | 1963 |
| University of Texas School of Law | J.D. | 1966 |
| University of Virginia School of Law | LL.M. | 1992 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Hughes was assigned 16,172 district-court cases (1972–2023). Median time from filing to termination: 125 days across 16,170 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 695 of Hughes’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 530 were affirmed, 97 reversed or vacated, and 68 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Hughes authored 174 published opinions for the court (1986–2011). Most cited: Westland Oil Development Corp. v. MCorp Management Solutions, Inc. (31 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Westland Oil Development Corp. v. MCorp Management Solutions, Inc. | 157 B.R. 100 | 31 |
| 1993 | In Re MCorp Financial, Inc. | 160 B.R. 941 | 26 |
| 1993 | Leonard v. USA Petroleum Corp. | 829 F. Supp. 882 | 23 |
| 1991 | Scott v. Communications Services, Inc. | 762 F. Supp. 147 | 19 |
| 1993 | Ayoub v. Baggett | 820 F. Supp. 298 | 17 |
| 1992 | In Re MCorp Financial, Inc. | 139 B.R. 820 | 17 |
| 1994 | Alicog v. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | 860 F. Supp. 379 | 14 |
| 1989 | Triton Lines, Inc. v. Steamship Mutual Underwriting Ass'n | 707 F. Supp. 277 | 14 |
| 1996 | Hatfield v. Quantum Chemical Corp. | 920 F. Supp. 108 | 13 |
| 1990 | Jeha v. Arabian American Oil Co. | 751 F. Supp. 122 | 13 |
| 1987 | Gulf Oil Corp. v. Banque De Paris Et Des Pays-Bas (In Re Fuel Oil Supply & Terminaling, Inc.) | 72 B.R. 752 | 13 |
| 1996 | Bihms v. Klevenhagen | 928 F. Supp. 717 | 11 |
| 1994 | Shell Oil Co. v. Capital Financial Services | 170 B.R. 903 | 11 |
| 1991 | Hefner v. Republic Indemnity Co. of America | 773 F. Supp. 11 | 11 |
| 1988 | Security Pacific National Bank v. Enstar Petroleum Co. (In Re Buttes Resources Co.) | 89 B.R. 613 | 11 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 174 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Lynn Nettleton Hughes?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Lynn Nettleton Hughes to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in 1985.
- Was Lynn Nettleton Hughes appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Lynn Nettleton Hughes was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Lynn Nettleton Hughes's confirmation vote?
- Lynn Nettleton Hughes was confirmed by voice vote on December 16, 1985. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Lynn Nettleton Hughes on?
- Lynn Nettleton Hughes is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Government (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
40 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).