{ "id": "ep5f2txx8p", "slug": "denise-p-hood", "title": "Denise P. Hood", "updated": "2026-10-15", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law" }, { "id": "society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3", "label": "Article III judges (district and appellate)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges", "label": "United States district court judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "label": "Surnames H", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Surnames H", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges", "label": "United States district court judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "label": "Surnames H", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Denise P. Hood, also known as Denise Page Hood, is an American jurist serving as a senior United States district judge in Michigan since 2022.", "snippet": "Denise P. Hood, also known as Denise Page Hood, is an American jurist serving as a senior United States district judge in Michigan since 2022.", "node": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "markdown": "# Denise P. Hood\n\nDenise Page Hood (born 1952) is an American jurist serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan since 2022.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) She was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and served as its chief judge from 2015 to 2022.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) • [2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Court | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) |\n| Appointed by | William J. Clinton[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) |\n| Confirmed | June 15, 1994 (voice vote)[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) |\n| Senior status | May 1, 2022[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) |\n| Born | 1952, Columbus, Ohio[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) |\n| Education | B.A., Yale University, 1974; J.D., Columbia Law School, 1977[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) |\n\n## Early life and education\n\nHood was born in 1952 in [Columbus, Ohio](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbus-ohio), where her parents, Richard and Nancy Page, worked at a federal military supply warehouse and raised Hood and her younger sister, Teri.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) After completing the eighth grade, she was offered a scholarship to the Columbus School for Girls; she initially resisted attending, saying, \"I didn't want to go to an all-girl's school, and I did everything I could to sabotage the admissions interview,\" but later said the school changed her life.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) She was the only black student in her class of 45 girls and graduated in 1970, the first African American to do so.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf)\n\nYale University recruited her from Columbus School for Girls, having decided to admit women the previous year, and pledged to assist her with scholarships and financial aid.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) She majored in psychology and African American studies.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) During the summer of her sophomore year, she traveled to [Mississippi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mississippi) as part of a fellowship program, helping a newly elected black county tax assessor set up his office in Port Gibson, and later attended the 1972 [Democratic National Convention](https://www.edgepedia.org/democratic-national-convention).[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) She received her bachelor's degree in 1974 and, after a planned publishing internship was canceled, took placement tests and was accepted by Columbia University, earning her law degree in 1977.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) • [2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) Two years into her studies, she married Nicholas Hood III, son of Detroit pastor and City Councilman Nicholas Hood Sr.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf)\n\n## Legal career\n\nHood served as an assistant corporation counsel for the city of Detroit from 1977 to 1982.[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) In 1980, while serving on a committee that interviewed candidates for judicial office, a friend suggested she run for judge of the newly created 36th District Court in Detroit; she ran two years later and won.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) She served as a judge on the Michigan District Court, Thirty-Sixth Judicial District, from 1983 to 1989, then as a judge of the Recorder's Court of the City of Detroit from 1989 to 1992, where she was reportedly the court's first black female chief judge.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) • [2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) She was a judge of the Michigan Circuit Court, Wayne County, from 1993 to 1994.[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366)\n\n## Federal judicial service\n\nPresident [Bill Clinton](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-clinton) nominated Hood to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on March 9, 1994.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) • [2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) The Senate confirmed her by voice vote on June 15, 1994, and she received her commission on June 16, 1994.[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) She was installed as Chief Judge of the district in January 2016, having assumed the office in 2015, and served until 2022.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) • [2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366) On February 18, 2022, she passed the Chief Judge's Gavel to U.S. District Judge Sean Cox during a ceremony at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) She assumed senior status on May 1, 2022.[2](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366)\n\nAs Chief Judge, she led the court through a major renovation project, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the retirement of several key management staffers, and her open-door policy was credited with creating programs to help prisoners and pro se litigants navigate the legal system.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) \"Serving as chief judge has been an honor,\" Hood said. \"I could not have succeeded without the support, innovation and ideas our from judges and talented staff.\"[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf)\n\n## Notable cases\n\n**Dow Corning breast implant litigation.** In the mid-1990s, after Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy, Hood was assigned to preside over nationwide lawsuits filed against the Midland-based company by 134,800 persons who said they were harmed by the company's silicone products.[1](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf) In November 2000, Hood ruled that women opposed to a $3.2-billion settlement over silicone breast implants could not sue Dow Corning's corporate parents, reversing a bankruptcy judge's opinion that had changed pivotal terms of the deal; the ruling set the stage for claimants to begin receiving compensation, though a lawyer among those fighting the settlement's no-lawsuit release said more appeals were planned.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-14-fi-51474-story.html)\n\n**Michigan partial-birth abortion law.** In a 2005 ruling, Hood declared unconstitutional Michigan's Legal Birth Definition Act, a law supporters said would ban a late-term abortion procedure, holding that it placed an \"undue burden\" on women's right to choose.[4](https://www.deseret.com/2005/9/15/19912335/judge-rules-against-a-michigan-abortion-law/) She wrote that the law was confusing and vague and that its exceptions for the health or life of the mother were meaningless and unconstitutional: \"The act does not describe any specific procedure to be banned,\" Hood wrote. \"The act also does not distinguish between induced abortion and pregnancy loss.\"[4](https://www.deseret.com/2005/9/15/19912335/judge-rules-against-a-michigan-abortion-law/) She agreed with abortion rights groups that argued the law would ban all pre-viable abortions, including the most common method of second-trimester abortion.[4](https://www.deseret.com/2005/9/15/19912335/judge-rules-against-a-michigan-abortion-law/) An earlier ruling by Hood striking down a similar Michigan law was reported in 2005 as following federal court decisions striking down previous attempts in 1997 and 2001.[5](https://www.foxnews.com/story/michigans-partial-birth-ban-ruled-unconstitutional)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Denise Hood Bio 2022](https://www.mied.uscourts.gov/PDFFIles/HoodBio2022.pdf)\n2. [Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382366)\n3. [Judge Reverses Decision in Breast Implant Suit](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-14-fi-51474-story.html)\n4. [Judge Rules Against a Michigan Abortion Law](https://www.deseret.com/2005/9/15/19912335/judge-rules-against-a-michigan-abortion-law/)\n5. [Michigan's Partial Birth Ban Ruled Unconstitutional](https://www.foxnews.com/story/michigans-partial-birth-ban-ruled-unconstitutional)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › United States judges › US federal judges › Article III judges (district and appellate) › United States district court judges › Surnames H*\n\n*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 29, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-p-hood", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-p-hood.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Denise P. Hood\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-p-hood. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Denise P. Hood](https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-p-hood)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-p-hood](https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-p-hood). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Denise P. Hood\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-p-hood. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Denise P. Hood, also known as Denise Page Hood, is an American jurist serving as a senior United States district judge in Michigan since 2022." }