Superior Court Judge Cooper Proposed for Federal Bench

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has recommended to President Clinton that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper be nominated to a judgeship on the federal district court in Los Angeles.

Feinstein on Tuesday praised Cooper, 59, as “an intelligent and hard-working jurist who has served with distinction in the California state courts and would be a valuable addition to the federal court.”

In her letter to the president, released Tuesday, Feinstein noted that Cooper has handled many sensitive, high-profile cases, including 14 death penalty cases. One of them was the so-called Ninja Murders, in which two brothers were convicted in the 1985 slayings of their parents in Brentwood.

In January, Cooper rendered a landmark decision when she ruled that California courts have the authority to hear cases against European insurance companies that have refused to honor decades-old insurance policies purchased by Jews as Hitler rose to power.

Cooper had an unusual path to the bench. She began her legal career as a single mother supporting two children while working as a legal secretary. She attended night classes at Beverly (now Whittier) Law School in Los Angeles and after four years graduated as valedictorian in 1975.

After graduating, she served as research attorney for Arthur Alarcon, then a Superior Court judge who eventually became a federal appeals court judge and was among those who recommended Cooper to Feinstein. Subsequently, Cooper spent two years in the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, then became a Superior Court commissioner for six years.

Although she is a Democrat, Cooper got her first judicial appointment to the Municipal Court in 1989 from Republican Gov. George Deukmejian. His successor, Pete Wilson, elevated Cooper to the Superior Court in 1992.

“It’s really an honor” to be considered for the position, Cooper said Tuesday. But she acknowledged that confirmation is “a long process.”