Born on April 28, 1934, in Lake Wales, Florida,[1][2] Hodges received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida in 1956, and a Juris Doctor from its Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 1958.

[1] Hodges was nominated by President Richard Nixon on December 8, 1971, to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, to a seat vacated by Judge Joseph Patrick Lieb.

[1] Hodges was the Chair of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation until June 13, 2007, when his term on that body ended.

[3] Through 2018,[4] he was a member of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) of the Judicial Conference of the United States, which he chaired through October 1, 2018.

[1] Hodges presided over the 2008 trial of celebrity actor Wesley Snipes for failure to file personal income tax returns (not to be confused with tax evasion).