Federal Judge Alia Moses Honored as Distinguished Alumna at Pioneer Alumni Association Awards Ceremony
APRIL 30, 2022 — DENTON —The Honorable Alia
Moses, Class of ‘83, was honored last weekend at the
annual Pioneer Alumni Association Awards ceremony in
Denton, TX with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Judge Moses has served as a federal judge on the United States District Court in the Del Rio Division for the Western District of Texas since 2002, commissioned under then President George W. Bush. She was the first woman to be appointed to the District’s bench and before that served as a federal magistrate judge in Del Rio. Her extensive list of accomplishments — overseeing 200+ jury trials, closing more than 13,000 criminal cases, sentencing over 16,000 defendants — has transformed the Western District of Texas.
With more than 30 years of service in various U.S. Federal Court agencies, Judge Moses has achieved stature in multiple positions of leadership within the profession of law in and out of the courtroom while advocating for women at the highest levels of the profession.
She is passionate about bringing attention to the inequalities women face in the legal profession and over the past 20 years, has mentored more than 40 law clerks to help make the field more balanced and equitable. “The impact on me of working my various roles in the profession,” she says, “is believing, and hoping I left my profession and society in a better place than what it was in 1986 when I became an attorney.”
Because of her service Judge Moses has been honored as the Latina Jurist of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association, was awarded the Victim/Witness Assistance Award from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas, and has been a representative to the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Department of Justice and the Department of State.
Judge Moses comes from a great legacy of TWU graduates. “Three aunts, four sisters…even my mother earned 3 hours of credit from TWU many, many years ago when she received her GED,” she says. “Quietly, but impactfully, TWU has meant much to my family.” Hailing from a pecan farm in Quemado, Texas, about a mile from the Rio Grande River, Judge Moses is the youngest of six. She credits the influence of her parents, Abdalla and Amelia Moses, and her mentor, TWU faculty member, Dr. Jim Alexander, for preparing her to apply for and gain acceptance to UT School of Law. “TWU was the perfect place,” she says, “for a young girl from a small town, population 300, to learn to live in the world and mature.”
Since 1969 the Pioneer Alumni Association, formerly known as the TWU Alumni Association, has bestowed the Distinguished Alumni award in recognition of a Texas Woman’s University alumni’s tremendous contribution to their communities and field of study. It is the highest and
most prestigious award the Association presents.
