Kelley B. Hodge

American judge (born 1971)

Kelley Hodge

Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Incumbent

Assumed office
December 23, 2022
Appointed by| Joe Biden
Preceded by| Petrese B. Tucker
25th District Attorney of Philadelphia

Acting

In office
July 24, 2017 – January 1, 2018
Preceded by| Rufus Seth Williams
Succeeded by| Larry Krasner
Personal details
Born|

Kelley Lisa Brisbon

(1971-11-17) November 17, 1971 (age 53)
Abington, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party| Democratic[1]
Education| University of Virginia  (BA)
University of Richmond (JD)

Kelley Brisbon Hodge (born November 17, 1971)[2] is an American attorney and who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She served as the 25th District Attorney of Philadelphia. After being elected on July 20, 2017, by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Board of Judges, Hodge was sworn in on July 24, 2017, making her the first African American woman to serve as district attorney in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[3]

## Early life and education

[edit]

Hodge grew up in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy. She attended the University of Virginia, where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in foreign affairs and in Spanish Language and Literature in 1993.[4] She then went on to earn a Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law in 1996.

## Career

[edit]

She became a public defender in Richmond, Virginia, in 1997. She joined the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in 2004, and afterward worked in the private sector.[5] In 2011, Hodge was appointed to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency as safe schools advocate in Philadelphia by Governor Tom Corbett, where she served until 2015.[6] From 2015 to 2016, she was the Title IX coordinator and executive assistant to the president at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.[7]

Hodge served as the interim district attorney from July 24, 2017, assuming the role following Rufus Seth Williams resignation, until January 1, 2018, when Larry Krasner took office.[8]

From 2016 to 2017 and 2018 to 2020, Hodge was of counsel at the law firm of Elliott Greenleaf in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.[9] In April 2020, Hodge joined Fox Rothschild in the firm's Philadelphia office as a partner in the labor and employment department.[10]

### Federal judicial service

[edit]

On July 12, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Hodge to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. President Biden nominated Hodge to the seat vacated by Judge Petrese B. Tucker, who assumed senior status on June 1, 2021.[11] On September 7, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[12] On September 28, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–9 vote.[13] On December 6, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–43 vote.[14] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 52–44 vote.[15] She received her judicial commission on December 23, 2022.[16]

## See also

[edit]

* List of African-American federal judges
* List of African-American jurists

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Brennan, Chris; Bender, William (July 23, 2017). "'Hardworking,' 'dedicated,' 'honest': Meet your new district attorney". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024.
2. ^ Vorugant, Harsh (August 2022). "Kelley Hodge – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania". vettingroom.org. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
3. ^ Writer, Layla A. Jones Tribune Staff (26 July 2017). "City's first Black female District Attorney sworn into office". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
4. ^ Philadelphia, City of. "City of Philadelphia: About the District Attorney". www.phila.gov. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
5. ^ "Kelley Brisbon Hodge '89: New Interim DA's Strong Ties to MSJA". www.msjacad.org. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
6. ^ "Kelley Hodge, a former city prosecutor, is selected interim DA". philly.com. July 20, 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
7. ^ "Kelley B. Hodge". 15 July 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
8. ^ "Kelley Hodge Selected as Philadelphia's Interim District Attorney". 21 July 2017.
9. ^ "Elliott Greenleaf Welcomes Back Kelley Hodge" (Press release). 26 February 2018.
10. ^ "Fox Welcomes Former Philadelphia DA Kelley Hodge as Partner in Labor and Employment Department".
11. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 12, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
12. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. August 31, 2022.
13. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – September 29, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
14. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Kelley Brisbon Hodge to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania)". United States Senate. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
15. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Kelley Brisbon Hodge, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania)". United States Senate. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
16. ^ Kelley B. Hodge at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

## External links

[edit]

* Kelley B. Hodge at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices

Preceded by

Petrese B. Tucker

|  Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
2022–present  | Incumbent

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