Hilda Tagle Knebel’s grandparents worked picking cotton in South Texas fields, and her mother, who owned a beauty shop, saw a better career path for her daughter: enrolling in beauty school. So, a teenage Tagle Knebel learned how to wash, set, and curl hair, and give polished manicures. But her heart wasn’t in it.
A passionate reader, the future Judge Tagle Knebel ’77 had bigger ambitions—a life among books. So, she committed herself to studying. Tagle Knebel earned degrees from junior college, East Texas State in library science, and a master’s from the University of North Texas. She then worked as a librarian specializing in government documents, which led her to Texas Law.
In the following decades, she made history when she became the first Hispanic woman to serve as a judge in Nueces County. Then, the Clinton administration appointed her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, making her the first Hispanic woman in Texas to become a federal judge.
Her vast experience includes work as a city, county, and district attorney, as well as in private practice. As a federal judge, she oversaw high-stakes legal matters, from felony criminal cases to post-conviction petitions. In 2021, she ruled the Texas post-conviction DNA testing statute was unconstitutionally applied to a death row inmate seeking proof of innocence. The decision allowed him to pursue DNA testing denied by state courts. In the late 2000s, she was among the busiest judges overseeing immigration filings and border-related disputes in the Rio Grande Valley.
We recently caught up with Tagle Knebel—who took senior status in 2011, then retired fully in 2021, days after her 75th birthday. In 2025, she’s one of four distinguished Texas Law graduates selected by the law school’s Alumni Association to be recognized for their accomplishments in the legal profession.
The University of Texas at Austin was one school offering the master’s degree in library science you wanted, but you didn’t apply. Why?
UT was too out there for somebody like me to even think about going. There were a lot of barriers. Besides money, there was the psychological barrier of not feeling like it was my place to be there. Nobody ever told me that. I just felt it from the political and social mores. But then, after I applied and I got in to UT Law, I was determined to get over that self-imposed barrier. Ultimately, it was belief in myself that did it. Imposter syndrome can really wreak havoc on your mind if you don’t snap out of it.
Then, you were tempted to quit law school. Why was that?
During law school, my mother was ill with cancer, I was the oldest child and the only girl, and I had to be with her. I didn’t have time for attending job fairs, visiting the placement office, or writing letters to prospective employers. I was one of three Hispanic students in my summer freshman law class of 150. One of my friends, Doug Chaves ’77, said, “If you quit, they’re going to say, ‘Look what happens when we give them a chance, they drop out.’” So, I thought, “I have to stay. I may not make it, but it’s not going to be because I quit.” UT toughened me up.
You landed your first law job partly because you were the only person in the office during lunch. How did that unfold?
I had no job prospects. I was a law clerk at Legal Aid in Austin, and an attorney’s phone rang. I picked up to take a message. It was the first assistant city attorney for the city of Corpus Christi calling. He was in town and wanted to invite the attorney to lunch. I said, “Well, she’s not here, but I’m looking for a job in Corpus, and I’ll go to lunch with you.” So, we had lunch, and after that I sent him my resume. The next month I started my job as assistant city attorney in charge of civil matters in Corpus where I needed to be with my family.
You’ve had outstanding career success ever since, which you attribute to people believing in you. How did that shape your trajectory?
The chair of the foreign language department at East Texas State lent me the money to go to law school when I told her I’d been accepted. Her belief in me dispelled any doubts I may have had about my capabilities. When I was accepted to law school, it was by phone call right before school started. I’m convinced someone else who had been accepted through the school’s then-minority admissions committee bowed out and I was the replacement. I really am grateful the committee believed in me. Finally, when I was lobbying for appointment to the federal judgeship, a colleague in-the-know told me I was one of five names being talked about, and he thought I had the best shot. That gave me the confidence I needed to take my shot.
You eventually became a prosecutor in the Nueces County district attorney’s office. What was that like?
At the time I took the job, women—especially women of color—were just not in the courtroom. Four years later, when I was being considered for a county court of law position, I had the experience I needed in front of a jury and was ahead of other applicants. But I never had acting or public speaking classes, debate, mock trial, or anything like that. So I got my ass kicked quite a bit—I’ll be frank about that. But I must have done something right. Because in spite of that, I learned how to run a courtroom.
Several years after that, how was campaigning at the state level, and then being nominated for federal judgeship twice by President Bill Clinton, in 1995 and 1997?
Oh, god, you have no idea! Library science does not prepare you for asking people for money or their vote, which was initially overwhelming. In my first campaign, I was sick every morning. My first husband was my campaign manager. He’d almost have to kick me out the door every morning because I was just scared to death of the public. But I got that experience under my belt. The next election, I challenged an incumbent district judge. I won every race I was ever in. For a federal judgeship, every step has landmines, and the appointment process is brutal, but the end result is amazing.
As county judge, you were known for keeping the peace among colleagues. What was your approach?
When I was presiding judge of the Board of Judges, there were some clashing personalities. I started meeting with people individually if there was going to be an agenda item that could cause fireworks. Then, by the time we got to the meeting, they were calmed down. When it was time for the next new guy to take the slot, I got a call from another judge who said, “I want you to run for presiding judge again because we haven’t been fighting near as much since you started.”
It’s been such an honor to serve the public. I really feel privileged to have had a part in making sure justice is administered fairly and equally.
Judge Hilda Tagle Knebel
What key traits are essential for judges serving in the U.S. today?
You can’t just accept everything as it presents itself; you need to look behind it, around it, and be curious. Not everything is black and white, there’s a lot of grey. You can’t be so set in one view that you’re not able to entertain an opposing view. Judicial temperament, especially for lifetime appointment, is critical—not being overwhelmed, easily distracted, or letting emotion get the best of you—even in a very stressful situation. Having that book-smart quality isn’t enough. You also need common sense. These are very difficult times for a democracy. We need advocacy that’s ethical and firmly grounded in the rule of law. Our responsibility is profound—to be those advocates and preserve the democracy we’ve been benefiting from since our country was founded.
It’s been such an honor to serve the public. I really feel privileged to have had a part in making sure justice is administered fairly and equally.
So, why retire from a lifetime position?
In the Valley, cases are constantly coming at you, like a firehose. I decided there were only so many people I was supposed to put behind bars in my lifetime. I’d either already met my quota, or exceeded it. It was time for somebody else to do this job. There are others just as qualified. My last jury trial was poignant. It was a criminal case where the defense attorney was a friend. During recesses, he thought we’d reminisce about old cases. But I was all business, I didn’t let on that we knew each other. That’s the way it should be—you can’t show favoritism.
What are you up to now?
My husband—my best friend for decades who was my roommate when I was a student at UT Law—and I hope to travel to Sicily. I just love to be with my dog and to read. I have a wonderful book club. Meeting women my age, retired professional women, being in awe of their achievements, also keeps me fired up.
Finally, as Lifetime Achievement winner, what does it mean to you to be honored by your fellow alumni and the Law School?
It’s an overwhelming honor, the culmination of everything I’ve achieved with the belief others had in me. They gave me the courage to really believe in myself and to make the best use of the qualities that I was born with.