Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Hart attended Forest Park Academy.
[1] On August 29, 1958, Hart received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated by Judge James Robert Kirkland.
He served as Chief Judge and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1974 to 1975, assuming senior status on May 16, 1979.
He served as the Presiding Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 1979 to 1982.
Hart continued to serve in senior status until his death on May 21, 1984, in Washington, D.C.[1] He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.