Judge Robert E. Hood was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of Herman C. and Brenda B. Hood. His father is a retired Southern Baptist minister and his mother is a retired preschool teacher.

Judge Hood attended the public schools of Cobb County, Georgia. Upon graduation from high school, he attended The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, where he graduated with a B.A. in political science with a focus on criminal justice. While at The Citadel, he was on the Dean’s List, the Commandant’s List, and the President’s List.

After The Citadel, he attended the University Of South Carolina School Of Law and received his Juris Doctor. While in law school, he was a member of the Moot Court Bar, the Order of Barristers, and served as a law clerk for the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. After graduating from law school, he worked as an Assistant Solicitor for the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. In 2003, Judge Hood accepted a position with the Attorney General’s office as an Assistant Attorney General for the State Grand Jury. In 2005, he accepted a position with the Strom Law Firm, LLC in Columbia and worked until his election to the bench.

Judge Hood is a member of the South Carolina Bar and admitted to practice in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and all South Carolina State Courts. He is also a member of the Richland County Bar Association and a former member of the South Carolina Association for Justice and the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Judge Hood was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly on February 1, 2012, to fill the unexpired term of the Honorable G. Thomas Cooper, Jr., Resident Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, Seat 3.