Hodges is a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. He also served as Dougherty County District Attorney and later ran as the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Georgia in 2010. Hodges was born in Albany, Georgia. He received a bachelor's degree from Emory University in political science and sociology in 1988 and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1991. Hodges served as district attorney for Dougherty County, a district in the southwestern area of Georgia, for 12 years. He was first elected to the position in 1996 and subsequently won re-election in both 2000 and 2004. It also during his tenure that Hodges was named president of the Georgia District Attorney’s Association