We are deeply saddened by the passing of United States District Judge Marcia Cooke who passed away Friday. Judge Cooke became ill last year on a flight home from a Hawaiian vacation and has been hospitalized ever since.
2023 has started off as a year of loss. Let's hope this trend does not continue.
David Markus runs the SDFL blog and that is the appropriate place for friends and colleagues to post remembrances of Judge Cooke. Click here.
We did not appear much in front of Judge Cooke. But a few years ago, we were asked to assist a colleague on a fraud sentencing. Judge Cooke did not like the charges. She was not impressed by the client. But she did admire our colleague and it remains in our mind an example of how superb lawyering can move a judge who is open minded- as Judge Cooke's sentence was eminently fair and reasonable.
It is almost a disservice to the memory of Judge Cooke to start listing all of the "firsts" of her career. Because she was so much more than just a remarkable woman who shattered glass ceilings. She was a force of law, reason, and justice. Whip smart, powerful in her knowledge of the law and people, in summarizing her career on the bench, it suffices to simply say this: when you walked out of her courtroom after a hearing, you said to yourself, having won or lost: "Now that is what a Judge should be. Wow. "
Judge Cooke's untimely death is a loss that is irreplaceable for our legal community.
6 comments:
She was the epitome of a great and dignified judge
I will post comments but I really urge you to go to David's blog and share stories there.
HR
FYI Rumpole, she was not hospitalized since that event. She recovered for a while and even traveled to Detroit for the holidays.
Is Federal Judge Magistrate Bill Turnoff still alive? I have not seen or heard about him in a decade. He was a true jurist and the kindest man. Anyone know?
Look in the Bar website:
Bill Turnoff is still licensed:
3370 NE 190th St Apt 1610
Aventura, FL 33180-2409
Office: 305-523-5710
gr8amer48@gmail.com
I liked him too.
Judge Cooke was wonderful. Sorry for our collective loss of a wonderful person.
Mag. Turnoff was a strange guy. We had a mediation with him where he did not mediate. He had the parties talk between themselves. In his chambers he had toy soldiers laid out on a battlefield. There must have been hundreds of them. I thought of taking one as a souvenir but figured there was a camera somewhere. But he was a nice guy.
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