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Michigan Appeals Court Judge Karen Fort Hood has died

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Posted at 7:56 PM, Aug 16, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-16 19:57:12-04

DETROIT (AP) — The first Black woman elected to Michigan's Court of Appeals has died. Chief Judge Christopher Murray says Karen Fort Hood died Sunday. She was 68. Details of Hood's death have not been released.

She was elected to the Appeals court in 2002 and her term was set to expire Jan. 1, 2027. Previously, the Detroit native was a Wayne County Circuit Court judge and served as chair on the Judicial Tenure Commission, which investigates ethics violation complaints.

Hood was elected to the Recorder's Court bench in 1992 and in 1997 to the county circuit court. She was appointed presiding judge over the court's criminal division in 1999.