Hobgood, Hamilton H.

Hamilton Harris Hobgood of Louisburg, N.C., was born on 23 March 1911. He earned a B.A. in education from the University of North Carolina in 1932 and a law degree from Wake Forest College of Law in 1941. While a law student, Hobgood also served on the Franklin County, N.C., bench. After law school, Hobgood served four years in the Marine Corps, until 1946, and two terms in the North Carolina Senate, from 1951 to 1954. In 1955, Governor Luther Hodges appointed him to the ninth district of the North Carolina Superior Court. Hobgood estimated that he presided over 60,000 cases in his 24 years on the Superior Court, but he is best known for presiding over the racially charged Joan Little murder trial in 1975. Other highlights of his career included serving as president of the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges in 1967 and on numerous committees related to juvenile justice, prison reform, and sentencing. Hobgood retired in 1979, but continued to work as an emergency Superior Court judge until 1990. Hobgood died 17 November 1995 in Louisburg, N.C.

From the guide to the Hamilton H. Hobgood Papers, 1955-1981, (Southern Historical Collection)

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