Deborah L. Cook

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Deborah L. Cook
Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office  2003
Nominated by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Alan E. Norris
Born	February 8, 1952 (1952-02-08) (age 57) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	University of Akron

Deborah L. Cook (born February 8, 1952) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in Akron, Ohio.^[1]

Background

Cook received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Akron and her Juris Doctor from its law school. She was president of Delta Gamma Sorority and president of her senior class at the University of Akron. She is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership and academic honorary society.

Following graduation from law school until her election to the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals, Cook was a member of Akron’s oldest law firm, Roderick, Myers & Linton, as well as the firm’s first female partner. She then served four years as a state appellate judge on the District Court of Appeals covering Summit, Wayne, Medina, and Lorain counties. Cook was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1994 for a six-year term beginning in 1995. She was re-elected in November 2000 and served until her appointment to the Sixth Circuit in 2003.

Judge Cook chaired the Commission on Public Legal Education, and was a member of the Ohio Courts Futures Commission and the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. In 1996, the University of Akron presented her with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. She is a past president of the Akron Bar Association Foundation, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and was a member of the Akron Bar Association disciplinary committee from 1981 to 1993. Judge Cook’s past community activities include: Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management; Summit County United Way Board of Trustees; President of Volunteer Center Board of Trustees, Women’s Network Board of Directors and past chair of the Junior Leadership Akron Project. She currently co-chairs Collegescholars, Inc, a mentored scholarship program benefiting disadvantaged Akron students.

Sixth Circuit nomination and confirmation

President George W. Bush nominated Cook to the Sixth Circuit on May 9, 2001 to a seat vacated by Judge Alan E. Norris. That nomination, made during the Democratic-controlled 107th Congress, never received a floor vote in the U.S. Senate. Cook was not confirmed until almost two years later. She was confirmed 66–25^[2] by the United States Senate on May 5, 2003. Cook was the fourth judge nominated to the Sixth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the Senate.

She was mentioned in 2005 as a possible nominee for the Supreme Court to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. O'Connor was eventually replaced with Samuel Alito, although Cook was mentioned as a possible nominee to the high court had Republican John McCain won the 2008 presidential election.^[1][3]

See also

• George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates

Notes

References

• "Federal Judicial Center Profile Cook, Deborah L.". Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2998 Federal Judicial Center Profile. Retrieved 2006-10-01.