Cathy Cochran

Cathleen Cochran Herasimchuk, known as Cathy Cochran (born November 11, 1944), is a former judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A resident of Austin, Texas, she was initially appointed to the court in 2001 by Governor Rick Perry[1] and elected by Texas voters in 2002 and 2008.[2] She did not seek reelection to the bench in 2014 and was succeeded in her Place 9 seat by her fellow Republican, David Newell of Houston.

Cathleen Cochran Herasimchuk
Place 9 Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
In office 2001 – January 7, 2015
Preceded by	Verla Sue Holland
Succeeded by	David Newell
Personal details
Born	November 11, 1944 City missing, California, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	David Herasimchuk
Children	Two daughters
Residence	Austin, Texas
Alma mater	Stanford University University of Houston Law Center

Education and marriage

Born in California,[3] Cochran earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English with distinction from Stanford University in 1966.[1][2][4] That same year, she married David Herasimchuk, whom she had met at Stanford. Initially she took his surname of Herasimchuk as her married name. In October 2001, however, at the urging of her husband and friends, she changed back to her maiden name of Cochran in order to run for re-election to the Court because the name was easier to pronounce; at that point her husband changed his name to Cochran, too.[3] They have two daughters and reside in Austin, Texas.[1][4][5]

After their marriage, the couple moved from California to Peru, where David's parents lived. They then moved to Boston, so he could attend Harvard Business School. After David graduated, he worked for Global Marine, an offshore drilling company, so they moved to Los Angeles, Houston in 1976, Venezuela in 1978, and back to Houston in 1980.[3]

Legal and academic career

After returning to Houston, Cochran enrolled in law school and earned her Juris Doctor degree with summa cum laude honors in 1984 from the University of Houston Law Center,[1][2][4][5] where she served as editor-in-chief of the law review, was elected to both the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Barons honor societies, and won the school's Distinguished Service Award.[1]

Serving as a professor in evidence, criminal law, and criminal procedure at the University of Houston Law Center, Cochran won the Professor of the Year award twice from the Order of the Barons and once from the student bar association. She also served as general editor of the 2nd edition of the Texas Rules of Evidence Handbook, published in 1993, and as author and editor of the 3rd edition, published in 1998.[1][4][5]

Judicial career

Cochran served as of counsel to Rusty Hardin & Associates in Houston until leaving to serve as an assistant district attorney in Harris and Fort Bend counties. She prosecuted forty-five cases and authored more than two hundred appellate briefs.[1][2][4][5]

Serving as Director of Criminal Justice in the office of Governor George W. Bush, Cochran advised Bush on criminal justice policy and judicial appointments. She formed the Advisory Committee to Revise Code of Criminal Procedure that organized a complete rewriting of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.[1][4][5]

Cochran placed third in the Republican primary election for the Court of Criminal Appeals in 1994. She polled 109,897 votes (25.5 percent).[6] Victory in the ensuing runoff election went to Sharon Keller, the presiding judge over that court since 2001.

Cochran was initially appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2001 by Governor Perry.[1][4][5] In 2002, she won the support of 63 percent of Texas voters for a full six-year term in the office.[2] The Criminal Justice Section of the Texas State Bar named her Jurist of the Year in 2006.[5] In 2008, 82 percent of Texas voters supported her re-election to another six-year term.[2]

References

1. "Judge Cathy Cochran". Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Archived from the original on 2011-09-24. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
2. "Judge Cathy Cochran, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9 (R)". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
3. "Texas State Bar – Court of Criminal Appeals Profile: Cathy Cochran". Project Vote Smart. October 1, 2003.
4. "Cathy Cochran". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
5. "Cathy Cochran – Dallas Morning News Interview". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
6. "Republican primary election returns, March 8, 1994". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.