Brig. Gen. Cooke named director of Federal Judicial Center

Brig. Gen. John S. Cooke,
U.S. Army (Ret)

One of the Army JAG Corps' brightest lights, Brig. Gen. (Ret) John S. Cooke, has been named director of the Federal Judicial Center. While on active duty he made important contributions to the improvement of military justice, including helping focus attention on the question of providing fixed terms of office for military judges (a reform Congress finally got around to making a statutory requirement in the Military Justice Act of 2016). Congratulations! 

Here's the official announcement:

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., announced today that the Board of the Federal Judicial Center has selected Deputy Director John S. Cooke to be the eleventh director of the Federal Judicial Center. 

Chief Justice Roberts, who chairs the Board of the Federal Judicial Center, stated, "The Board selected John Cooke from a number of exemplary candidates. John has won extensive praise over the past 13 years as deputy director of the Center. He has strong leadership skills and unparalleled knowledge of the Center’s programs. The Board is confident that Deputy Director Cooke will be a worthy successor to Judge Jeremy Fogel, whom I thank for his seven years of dedicated service as the Center’s director." Judge Fogel will complete his service as director in September 2018, and he has accepted the position of Executive Director, Berkeley Judicial Institute, University of California School of Law. 

Upon being notified of his selection, Deputy Director Cooke said, "I am humbled and deeply honored, and I am excited about this opportunity to serve." He expects to undertake his new responsibilities in September 2018. 

John Cooke joined the Federal Judicial Center in 1998 as its director of judicial education programs, and he later headed the Center’s Education Division. The Board selected Mr. Cooke as Deputy Director in 2005. Before his 20-year career at the Center, Mr. Cooke was a commissioned officer in the United States Judge Advocate General’s Corps, achieving the rank of brigadier general. In the course of his military career, he served as the Chief Judge of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, the Judge Advocate for the U.S. Army in Europe, Academic Director of the Judge Advocate General’s School, and as a military trial judge. Mr. Cooke received a B.A. degree from Carleton College, a J.D. from the University of Southern California, and an LL.M degree from the University of Virginia. 

The Federal Judicial Center (www.fjc.gov) was created by Congress in 1967 to "further the development and adoption of improved judicial administration in the courts," through research and education. The Center is headquartered in the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building in Washington, DC. 

Last year, the Federal Judicial Center completed 14 major research projects and provided 314 in-person, in-court, and technology-based educational programs for some 27,000 federal judges and court employees. The Center's research focuses on federal court processes and operations. Its educational programs include orientation and continuing education for judges on subjects ranging from substantive developments in the law to case management.