Florence-Marie Cooper was a United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

.

Early life and education

Cooper was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and moved to San Francisco with her family in 1952. Cooper graduated from high school in 1958 and began working as a legal secretary. She attended night classes at City College of San Francisco

City College of San Francisco

City College of San Francisco, or CCSF, is a two-year community college in San Francisco, California. The Ocean Avenue campus, in the Ingleside neighborhood, is the college's primary location...

 for five years, but did not graduate from the school. In 1971, her husband's job was transferred to Los Angeles, and Cooper began attending Beverly Law School under a program for students who had not graduated from college. During that time, Beverly Law School merged into Whittier College School of Law

Whittier Law School

Whittier Law School is a law school in Costa Mesa, California. Founded in 1966, it is a fully accredited ABA law school in Orange County, California. A private university, it is part of Whittier College.-History:...

, from which Cooper graduated in 1975 as the top student in her class.

Career

Cooper served as law clerk for the Hon. Arthur Alarcon, Los Angeles Superior Court, Appellate Dept. (1975 to 1977). She served as Deputy City Attorney of Los Angeles, California (1977). She was Senior Research Attorney for the Hon. Arthur Alarcon, Second Appellate District, California Court of Appeal (1978 to 1980). She was a Senior Research Attorney for the Hon. Judge Woods, Second Appellate District, California Court of Appeal (1980 to 1983). She was Adjunct Professor, San Fernando Valley College School of Law (1980 to 1985). She was Court Commissioner, Los Angeles Superior Court (1983 to 1990).

Judicial service

Cooper serves as Judge, Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1990 to 1991. She served as Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court from 991 to 1999.

She was nominated by President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 on July 14, 1999, to a seat vacated by Linda H. McLaughlin. She was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on November 10, 1999, and received her commission on November 15, 1999. She served as a federal district judge until her death of lymphoma

Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...

 on January 15, 2010, aged 69.

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