Joseph Martin Hood

Senior Judge, Eastern District of Kentucky, 1990-

Joseph Martin Hood is a senior judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Hood was born in 1972 in Ashland, Kentucky. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky in 1965 and a law degree from the UK College of Law in 1972. During these years, Hood also served as a US Army Captain from 1966 to 1970. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable District Court Judge David Hermansdorfer. When a new magistrate judgeship opened on the Court, the federal judges on the bench selected him to fill the seat. He served in the role until 1990, when President George H. W. Bush nominated him to serve as a judge for the Eastern District Court, to a seat vacated by Judge Scott Reed. The Senate confirmed his nomination on April 27, 1990. On October 14, 2007, Hood assumed senior status.

For more information related to Judge Hood, see the exhibit Criminal Sentencing Over Time.

Archival Materials

Joseph M. Hood papers, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.

Oral Histories