--- title: "Joseph Martin Hood | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-m-hood" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Joseph Martin Hood U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky - State: Kentucky - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, E.D. Kentucky, 1990-2007 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, appointed in 1990 and elevated to senior status in 2007 - U.S. District Judge: Appointed by President George H. W. Bush on January 24, 1990; confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 1990; commissioned April 30, 1990 - Law clerk, Hon. David Hermansdorfer, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, 1972-1976 - Current Role: Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, continuing to hear designated cases while on reduced active duty ### Education - University of Kentucky College of Law in — J.D. (1972) - University of Kentucky in — B.S. (1965) ### Additional information - He has also been a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States since 2016 - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2016-2019 - Senior Judge: Assumed senior status October 14, 2007 - Chief Judge: E.D. Kentucky (2005–2007) - U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, 1976-1990 - U.S. Magistrate Judge: E.D. Kentucky (1976–1990) - U.S. Army captain, 1966-1970 - Born October 14, 1942, in Ashland, Kentucky. - Date of birth: 1942-01-01 - Birth place: Ashland, KY ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: **As of May 2023 Lexington Courtroom A Courtroom Technology has been updated** . The new courtroom evidence presentation technology includes the following . Laptop inputs for HDMI, USB C, Display Port, and Mini Display Port (No VGA input option) . [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Kentucky | United States District Court](https://www.kyed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382371) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382371) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382371) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1510/joseph-martin-hood/) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Kentucky | United States District Court](https://www.kyed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1510/joseph-martin-hood/) - [Hood, Joseph Martin](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382371) - [Wikidata: Joseph Martin Hood](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6285355) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-m-hood", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-m-hood", "name": "Joseph Martin Hood | KnowJudges", "description": "Joseph Martin Hood, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.