Hatchett was born in Clearwater, Florida and attended segregated Pinellas High School.

[3] He served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a lieutenant colonel and judge advocate from 1977 to 1988.

Hatchett was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 17, 1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat.

[6] Hatchett was the first African American to serve on a Federal Appeals Court in the Deep South.

[7] Hatchett was reassigned by operation of law on October 1, 1981, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 94 Stat.

[3] An effort to honor Hatchett by renaming the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee after him, S. 2938, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 24, 2022.

President Joe Biden signed the measure into law through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on June 25, 2022.