[3] Intermittently, from 1998 to 2011, Hopkins was an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

President Biden nominated Hopkins to the seat vacated by Judge Timothy Black, who assumed senior status on May 18, 2022.

[8] On December 7, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 60–34 vote.

[12] On January 29, 1943, Hopkins' uncle, Robert "Bobby" Hall, was arrested at his home by Claude Screws, the sheriff of Baker County, Georgia.

The Supreme Court of the United States, in a 1945 decision, Screws v. United States, authored by William O. Douglas, ruled that the federal government had not shown that Screws had the intention of violating Hall's civil rights when he killed him.