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Judge Retires

Stephen Cooper announces
plans on Election Day.

Alan Hitsky
Associate Editor

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November 9 • 2006

JNI

udge Stephen C. Cooper,
chief judge of the 46th
District Court in Southfield,
announced his retirement on Tuesday.
The veteran jurist said he was
concerned that his decision would
sway voters if he announced his plans
before the election or that people
would think he was unhappy with the
electidn outcome
if he announced
his retirement
after Election Day.
He plans to
continue serving
until the gover-
nor chooses a
successor. The
46th District
Court includes
Southfield,
Beverly Hills,
Bingham Farms,
Franklin and
Lathrup Village.
Cooper was
Stephen Cooper
first elected to the
Southfield City
Council in 1973 and was first elected
to the District Court in 1986.
He was educated at Brandeis
and Wayne State universities and
taught high school for a year outside
Jerusalem. He taught Hebrew and
Jewish history at several Detroit-area
Hebrew schools and was a camper and
counselor at Camp Ramah.
He's served on the Jewish
Community Council and the Anti-
Defamation League board and has
been on several missions to Israel,
including the Jewish Federation's
Hadracha and Family Mission.
He is a past president of the
Michigan District Judges Association
and is in his second term as Michigan
governor of the American Judges
Association (AJA). He also chairs
-AJ/Vs Committee on Mediation and
Alternative Dispute Resolution.
"I have been a judge for 20 years;'
he said, "and it is getting to the point
where I am seeing the same type of
case so many times.

"It's time for a new challenge'
Cooper, who is 62, said he and his
wife, Caroline, will remain in the area.
He plans to get more involved with
mediation and expects to work as a
visiting judge. He also plans to pursue
his art — he's taken pottery classes
for 12 years, is now taking a welding
class and loves to paint.
"Caroline and I also kayak and
like to travel, and we like to read and
continue learning;' he said. Their two
sons and daughter-in-
law live in Chicago, but
Judge Cooper and his
wife both have siblings
living in the Detroit
area. -
Judge Cooper has
received numerous
honors, including the
Martin Luther King Jr.
Award, the Women's
Bar Association
Honoree of the Year,
Governor's Award for
Volunteer Service,
Southfield Schools'
Alumnus of the
Year, Toastmasters
International Annual
District Leadership Award, Oakland
County Bar Association Distinguished
Service Award, Michigan Optimist of
the Year and national awards for the
annual LAWFAIR from the American
Bar Association:
He served two terms as vice presi-
dent of the Michigan Association of
Drug Court Professionals and on
the State Bar of Michigan Standing
Committee on Professional and
Judicial Ethics.
He was president of the Michigan
District Judges Association, the
Southfield Bar Association and the
B'Dai B'rith Barrister Association and
was vice president of the Southfield
Chamber of Commerce.
He also served on numerous boards,
including the Salvation Army, League
of Women Voters, Anti-Defamation
League, Southfield-Lathrup PTA
Council, MLK Taskforce and the
Easter Seals Society. ❑

