Barbara Kloka Hackett (March 17, 1928 – December 23, 2018) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (in case citations, E.D. Mich.) is the United States district court, federal district court with jurisdiction over of the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of the State o ...

Early life and education

Hackett was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, the oldest of two daughters, and attended St. Gregory School in northwest Detroit. She completed a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...

in 1948 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1950.

Career

Hackett was a staff lawyer for the Michigan-Wisconsin Pipeline Company from 1950 to 1951. She was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Judge Frank Picard of the

from 1951 to 1952. She was in private practice in Detroit from 1952 to 1967. She was a lawyer for the New York Central Railroad Company from 1963 to 1965. She was chief law clerk to the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reported both in an official publication of ...

from 1965 to 1966, and was an assistant prosecuting attorney of

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The coun ...

from 1967 to 1972. She then returned to private practice until 1973. After briefly serving as a magistrate judge, she later continued in private practice until 1986, when she was briefly acting chief of the Appellate Division of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

Federal judicial service

Hackett served as a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1973 to 1984, and was the first woman to serve in such a position. On February 11, 1986, Hackett was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Charles Wycliffe Joiner. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on March 27, 1986, and received her commission on April 7, 1986. She assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on April 8, 1997. Hackett served in that capacity until her retirement on March 1, 2000. During her career, Hackett presided over a number of high-profile cases. In 1987, she stripped former Nazi concentration camp guard Johann Leprich of his American citizenship; she also sentenced former New Jersey Mayor John McCann to life in prison without parole for operating an international cocaine smuggling scheme. In 1999 Hackett ruled that rap duo OutKast was not required to pay

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...

for using her name in the title of their Grammy-winning song.

Later life and death

After her retirement from the bench, Hackett practiced law in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. She was licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of Michigan, having been a licensed attorney since 1951. Hackett died on December 23, 2018, from declining health at her home in

Brighton, Michigan Brighton is a city in the Detroit metropolitan area in southeastern Livingston County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,444. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area. It is one of ...

. She was 90.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Barbara Kloka 1928 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges Florida lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Lawyers from Detroit United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan University of Detroit Mercy alumni United States magistrate judges