Harold Hood
Judge Harold Hood was born on January 14, 1931 in
Hamtramck, Michigan. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of Michigan in 1952. At the end of his freshman year
in 1949, he earned a Phi Eta Sigma membership reserved for those
completing their freshman year with at least a 3.5 of 4.0 GPA.
Immediately after college, he served in the army as a 1st Lieutenant
with the 7th Infantry Division in Korea. Upon returning to civilian
life, he entered Wayne State University Law School where he received
his Juris Doctor degree with distinction in 1959, graduating in the
top 6% of his class.
Judge Hood formed his own law firm, Hood, Rice, and Charity, where
he practiced until 1961 when he accepted a position as Assistant
Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit, only the third African
American to work in that office. He became Principal Assistant
Corporation Counsel before leaving in 1969 to serve as Chief
Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
Michigan, the first person of color to occupy that position.
On January 2, 1973, Judge Hood was appointed to the Common Pleas
Court for the City of Detroit. In 1977, he moved to the Recorders
Court of Detroit (while on that court, he was rated as one of the
five best judges in Michigan), and in 1978 he was appointed to the
3rd Judicial Circuit Court (Wayne County). In 1982, he was appointed
to the Michigan Court of Appeals by then Governor William Milliken
and was elected to full terms in 1984, 1990, and 1996. He retired on
January 1, 2003 as Chief Judge Pro Tem.
Judge Hood has been also active in civic and legal activities and
received numerous awards from institutions and organizations in
recognition of his public service. From 1987 to 1989, Judge Hood
served as Chair of the Supreme Court’s Task Force on Racial and
Ethnic Issues in the Courts, which issued a report with 122
recommendations to improve the system. He also served from 1997 to
2002 as Co-Chair, with Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly, of the
State Bar of Michigan’s Open Justice Commission, charged with
implementing the task force recommendations. He was also one of the
founding members of the National Consortium of Task Forces on Racial
and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts, which awarded him the Founders
Award of Merit in 1998.
Judge Hood has served as adjunct faculty at the Detroit College of
Law at Michigan State University and in the graduate division of
Central Michigan University. He has also served as faculty at the
Michigan Judicial Institute and the National Judicial College, and
currently is an adjunct professor at Cooley Law School in Lansing,
Michigan, and at Oakland University.
Judge Hood is also an accomplished vocalist. He has served as a
tenor with the Hartford memorial Cathedral Choir and is currently a
tenor soloist for the First Congregational Church of Detroit Chancel
Choir. He also performs as a vocalist in the Old First Underground
Railroad Living Museum Tour.
He is married to Reverend Dr. Lottie Jones Hood, Ed. D. D. Min., who
is a pastor of the 163 year old Historic First Congregational Church
of Detroit. Dr. Hood is also the founder and president of BABESWORLD,
Inc, a national substance abuse prevention program. He has four
children, Harold Keith, Kenneth, Kevin, and Karen.
Updated March 2, 2007
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