Legal News

Florence-Marie Cooper dies

By Richard Binder

U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, a former legal secretary who rose to the federal judiciary and held accountable some of the nation's most powerful officials and institutions, died early Friday in Santa Monica after suffering a stroke. She was 69.

As a federal judge, Cooper made headlines dismissing a case against accused Chinese spy Katrina Leung on grounds of governmental misconduct. She also presided over a two-decade copyright battle involving the cartoon character Winnie the Pooh as well as a wrongful death suit brought against the city of Los Angeles by the family of rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace. She riled authorities in that case when she declared a mistrial and imposed a $1.1-million sanction against the city of Los Angeles for failing to turn over documents that would have been useful to rapper Wallace's heirs in their effort to prove their claims that two rogue L.A. police officers were complicit in his slaying.

As recently as last year, she was still making headlines.  Cooper defied the claims of President George W. Bush's administration that she was interfering with national security when she imposed conditions on Navy sonar testing to protect whales off the coast of Southern California. The Supreme Court upheld much of her position, although it overturned her on two key protections sought by the environmental groups that brought the action.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed her to a lifetime position on the federal bench. She had planned to retire in March to care for her husband, who is ill.

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on January 19, 2010 (boomark / email).