Interview with Joseph Martin Hood, January 28, 2019
Project: John G. Heyburn II Initiative for Excellence in the Federal Judiciary Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Joseph M. Hood is a Senior Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.In this oral history, Judge Hood discusses his path from a childhood in Ashland, Kentucky to confirmation to the Eastern District bench. He describes his military service during the Vietnam War, clerkship for Judge H. David Hermansdorfer, and his role as a federal magistrate. The oral history concludes with a discussion of his early years as a federal judge.
Born in Ashland in 1942, Judge Hood received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1965 and his law degree from UK College of Law in 1972. Following law school, he clerked for District Court Judge Hermansdorfer. When a new magistrate position 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. Hood served as chief judge from 2005 to 2007, until he assumed senior status on October 14, 2007.
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Bush, George Herbert Walker, 1924-2018 District courts--United States—Administration Judges--United States Law clerks Law schools Magistrate United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary United States. District Court (Kentucky : Eastern District) University of Kentucky. College of Law Vietnam War, 1961-1975Interview Rights
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Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
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All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Hood, Joseph Martin Interview by Anu Kasarabada. 28 Jan. 2019. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Hood, J.M. (2019, January 28). Interview by A. Kasarabada. John G. Heyburn II Initiative for Excellence in the Federal Judiciary Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Hood, Joseph Martin, interview by Anu Kasarabada. January 28, 2019, John G. Heyburn II Initiative for Excellence in the Federal Judiciary Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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