Lynn Nettleton Hughes (born 1941) is a United States federal judge.
Born in Houston, Texas, Hughes received a B.A. from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa in 1963 and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1966. He was in private practice in Houston, Texas from 1966 to 1979. He was a President, Southwest Resources, Houston, Texas from 1969 to 1970. He was a judge on the 165th Judicial District, State of Texas from 1979 to 1980. He was a judge on the 189th Judicial District, State of Texas from 1981 to 1985. Adjunct professor, South Texas College of Law, 1973–present. He was an Adjunct professor, University of Texas School of Law from 1990 to 1991. He received an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1992.
Hughes was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Hughes was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on October 16, 1985, to a seat vacated by Robert O'Conor, Jr.. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 16, 1985, and received his commission on December 17, 1985.
Since approximately 2008, Hughes has been a lecturer focusing on ethical issues for the 35,000-member American Association of Petroleum Geologists.[1]
According to a Thursday, July 29, 2010 AOL online article, Judge Hughes was asked by BP to oversee the massive number of lawsuits filed against it. While he does not own any shares of BP and has not been formally asked to recuse himself, the fact that he has connections (like many federal judges that are his colleagues in his district) to the oil and gas sector as a whole has led some media outlets, including CNN, to suggest that such a choice could be somewhat questionable.