He was the son of George L. Cooke and Mary E. (Pond) Cooke. He graduated from Monticello High School (New York), from Georgetown University in 1935, and from the Albany Law School in 1938. After opening a law office in Monticello in 1939, he was elected Supervisor of the Town of Thompson for two terms. He married Alice McCormack, and they had three children.
His judicial career began in 1953 when he was elected county judge, surrogate and Children's Court judge of Sullivan County. In November 1961, he was elected unopposed a justice of the New York Supreme Court, and was appointed to the Appellate Division in 1968.
In 1972, he ran for the Court of Appeals on the Democratic and Conservative tickets but was defeated. In 1974, he and Jacob D. Fuchsberg were the last two judges elected to the New York Court of Appeals. In 1977, a constitutional amendment made the judgeships appointive. He was the first Chief Judge appointed by the Governor. He was nominated by Governor Hugh L. Carey on January 2, 1979, and confirmed by the New York State Senate on January 23, 1979. He retired from the bench at the end of 1984 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years.
He died at his home in Monticello, and was buried at the Rock Ridge Cemetery there.
His opinionsedit
In In re Rothko, he wrote the court's opinion finding that the executors of the estate of abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko violated their fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries of Rothko's estate.
In People v. Rogers, he wrote in the majority opinion that once a lawyer has entered a proceeding in what may develop into a criminal case, the police must cease questioning the suspect, and that a waiver of the right to counsel may be made only in the presence of counsel.
In Beach v. Shanley, he wrote the court's opinion that the Shield law permits a reporter who has been called before a grand jury to withhold the name of confidential sources without being subject to any sanction for criminal contempt.
In Sharrock v. Dell Buick-Cadillac, he wrote the majority opinion that a state lien law permitting garage operators to satisfy an overdue bill by auctioning off the delinquent customer's car constituted a state deprivation of property without due process of law under the State Constitution.
Legacyedit
A number of events and places have been named in his honor, including the and the Lawrence H. Cooke Sullivan County Courthouse. His name is also attached to several awards given to law students and lawyers.
lawrence, cooke, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, february, 2024, learn, when. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message Lawrence Henry Cooke October 15 1914 Monticello Sullivan County New York August 17 2000 Monticello Sullivan Co NY was an American lawyer and politician from New York He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1979 to 1984 Contents 1 Life 2 His opinions 3 Legacy 4 SourcesLife editHe was the son of George L Cooke and Mary E Pond Cooke He graduated from Monticello High School New York from Georgetown University in 1935 and from the Albany Law School in 1938 After opening a law office in Monticello in 1939 he was elected Supervisor of the Town of Thompson for two terms He married Alice McCormack and they had three children His judicial career began in 1953 when he was elected county judge surrogate and Children s Court judge of Sullivan County In November 1961 he was elected unopposed a justice of the New York Supreme Court and was appointed to the Appellate Division in 1968 In 1972 he ran for the Court of Appeals on the Democratic and Conservative tickets but was defeated In 1974 he and Jacob D Fuchsberg were the last two judges elected to the New York Court of Appeals In 1977 a constitutional amendment made the judgeships appointive He was the first Chief Judge appointed by the Governor He was nominated by Governor Hugh L Carey on January 2 1979 and confirmed by the New York State Senate on January 23 1979 He retired from the bench at the end of 1984 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years He died at his home in Monticello and was buried at the Rock Ridge Cemetery there His opinions editIn In re Rothko he wrote the court s opinion finding that the executors of the estate of abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko violated their fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries of Rothko s estate In People v Rogers he wrote in the majority opinion that once a lawyer has entered a proceeding in what may develop into a criminal case the police must cease questioning the suspect and that a waiver of the right to counsel may be made only in the presence of counsel In Beach v Shanley he wrote the court s opinion that the Shield law permits a reporter who has been called before a grand jury to withhold the name of confidential sources without being subject to any sanction for criminal contempt In Sharrock v Dell Buick Cadillac he wrote the majority opinion that a state lien law permitting garage operators to satisfy an overdue bill by auctioning off the delinquent customer s car constituted a state deprivation of property without due process of law under the State Constitution Legacy editA number of events and places have been named in his honor including the Annual Chief Judge Lawrence H Cooke State Constitutional Commentary Symposium and the Lawrence H Cooke Sullivan County Courthouse His name is also attached to several awards given to law students and lawyers Sources edit 1 Political Graveyard 2 Listing of Court of Appeals judges with portrait 3 Obit in NYT on August 19 2000 Tribute to Chief Judge Lawrence H Cooke 1914 2000 by Vincent Martin Bonventre Albany Law Review vol 64 page 1 2000 Legal offices Preceded byCharles D Breitel Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals1979 1984 Succeeded bySol Wachtler Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lawrence H Cooke amp oldid 1206404146, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
